


After Fire

by morningstar115



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Mostly just lots of drama and fluff, Not a very deep or complicated story, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-07 19:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 36,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20822378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningstar115/pseuds/morningstar115
Summary: Thirty years have passed since the Battle of the Five Armies. For the most part, despite some Durin family problems, the kingdom under Erebor has been at peace. That is, until Thorin goes for a ride outside the mountain and finds something he did not expect.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old story I hadn't gotten around to posting on AO3 yet. It is complete, and updates should happen pretty quickly.  
Anyway, if you've looked at the tags and think this story is your cup of tea...Enjoy!

She stumbled through the icy woods, tripping over branches and stones, unable to see where she was running in the darkness. Where _they_ were running; she held her little brother's hand. He was whimpering, breathless. But they couldn't stop. She practically dragged him across the rough ground.

She had long since lost her sense of direction. She had lost her weapons. The pain in her left arm was increasing with every step. Mahal and the Valar curse the goblin that had injured her! Or had it been an orc? She didn't know the difference anymore; the pain was clouding her mind more than ever.

Running blindly through the woods, half-dragging her little brother, she found herself wishing that this was just a nightmare, a bad dream that the morning light would chase away…

_"Adad! Adad! I hit the target! I did!" She ran happily to her father, who picked her up, bow and all, and threw her into the air. Catching her expertly, he called over his shoulder, towards the house, "Starlight! Did you hear that? Our little girl is becoming a fine archer already!"_

_Her mother smiled and tossed back her long red hair. "Is that so? I guess we'll have to take her hunting soon, darling!"_

Hunting. She liked to hunt. But not being hunted. Like she was now.

Her breath was coming in shorter and shorter gasps. Why did her arm hurt so? Had the blade that struck her been poisoned? Why hadn't she thought of that?

Her brother cried out as he tripped over a tree root. Her heart wrenched in her chest, but they could not stop.

_"Come in here, sweetheart, and meet your little brother!" Her father took her arm and guided her into the bedroom._

_Her mother was sitting up in the bed, her fiery tresses damp with sweat, but a happy smile on her face. She held a small bundle of blankets in her arms. As the girl approached the bedside, her mother held out the bundle. "Would you like to hold him?"_

_Nervous but eager to do so, the girl carefully took the tiny thing in her arms. Looking down, she beheld the little red face of her brother. He was sleeping peacefully. "Adad," she asked softly, "What is the Khuzdul word for 'little brother'?"_

_"_Nadadith,_" he answered just as quietly._

_She smiled down at the baby. "Hello,_nadadith. _I'm you're big sister."_

A sudden flare of pain from her arm, spreading through her whole body, brought her to her knees. In water? Was she truly in a pond or stream or was this her imagination? Was any of this real?

_"Fourteen days, Kara. If we are not back by then, head to the Lonely Mountain. Erebor. Don't stop until you get there; you'll be safe."_

_"But we will try our utmost to come home, sweetheart." Her mother embraced her. "We_will _come home soon."_

But they hadn't.

Kara felt like her head was being split by an axe. The darkened world around her spun in dizzying circles. Where was her brother? Was he still holding her hand? Her body had gone numb; she couldn't tell.

_"Dwarvish scum!"_

_"Get away from my brother!"_

_A twanging bowstring; clashing swords. Blood everywhere._

"Sissy! Sister! _Kara!_"

"_Nadadith…_" The darkness consumed her.


	2. An Unexpected Outing

Thorin hadn't planned this outing.

He _could_ blame it all on Fíli, but that wouldn't be entirely fair. Or he could blame it all on Balin, but that _really_ wouldn't be fair.

The argument had been stupid. So stupid that Thorin was barely out of Erebor's gates before he felt ashamed of it.

The thirty years since he had retaken the Lonely Mountain had been, on the whole, peaceful. But not necessarily easy. First there was the disagreement about who got what treasures from the hoard of Smaug. Then there was the little problem with that ridiculous group of Lake Town men trying to chop of his head. Then, to add insult to injury, his own nephew had run off with a…

"_Mahal!_" growled Thorin, kicking his pony into a gallop with a little more force than necessary. That was the root of the entire problem, the real issue behind the argument which had driving the King Under the Mountain out into the countryside on a freezing late autumn morning.

It had all started when Balin had brought in the messenger from Dale. It was really a very simple thing; a Dale merchant had accused a young Erebor dwarf of stealing some of his wares, and the debate over the truth had become so heated that it was brought before King Bard. Bard, knowing better than to try and pass judgment on an interracial problem without Thorin's consent, had sent a messenger with a letter explaining the situation. Balin just happened to be the only other person present when the message was delivered, besides Thorin and Fíli.

That's where the argument came up. They'd actually had trouble with the accused dwarf before; he was a thief and a troublemaker. Thorin was in favor of giving the criminal a prison sentence, to break him of his bad habits. Fíli had protested, saying that the dwarf deserved to pay a sort of fine to the man he'd stolen from. He claimed that imprisonment wouldn't make a difference, when Thorin clearly thought otherwise.

So they'd had a fight. And not just a heated discussion, no, it had turned into a blazing shouting match (much to the discomfort of poor Balin). Finally, both dwarves had stormed out of opposite doors, determined to ignore each other for as long as possible. Knowing Fíli, this meant going down to the forges to "cool off", so to speak (though hammering iron blades into shape would probably make him even more heated than ever). Thorin had planned on going back to his chambers and sulking, but that hadn't worked out well at all. He had tried to read, and failed. He had tried to finish some tiring trade paperwork, and that hadn't worked either.

After an hour or so, he'd stormed off to the stables to find a pony. _Perhaps a hard ride, to somewhere away from Erebor, will clear my thoughts, _he'd told himself.

Instead, the cold, clear quiet landscape away from the mountain merely gave him more space for thoughts.

The pony's hooves clattered on the stony ground, occasionally splashing into a small puddle. Rain had poured down the night before, but now the sky had cleared. An icy breeze brushed against Thorin as he steered the pony toward a narrow, wooded valley a short distance off. Winter was coming; he could feel it in the air. So could the pony, apparently; it tossed its head spiritedly and practically pranced toward the trees. Wasn't winter supposed to make animals _slower_?

Thorin sighed. The whole business was ludicrous. The king of the greatest dwarf kingdom in Middle Earth, driven out of Erebor after a fight with his first and only remaining heir? Fíli wasn't usually _this_ unreasonable, but since his brother had left…

Thorin shook himself angrily. _Deal with it. It's been twenty-seven…No, wait, twenty-eight years? _He growled disgustedly. Now he was getting senile. No wonder he felt like he had to flee after a fight with his nephew.

A raven cawed loudly far overhead. Thorin slowed the pony as they approached the trees. Even though he was a dwarf, he wasn't _that_ short and had no desire to be knocked off his mount by a low branch.

_This wouldn't have happened if Dís were home,_he reflected. She could usually diplomatically reconcile Thorin and Fíli's differing opinions. If that failed, she could simply slap them both silly (as she had done on numerous occasions). But she was visiting friends and distant family in the Iron Hills and would be gone for a couple months yet.

Shaking his head yet again, Thorin took a deep breath and glanced about at his surroundings. Despite the time of year, some trees still had leaves, and the woods, though dripping, were lit by bright, if cold, sunlight. A few birds flitted amongst the tree branches, chirping their carefree songs. At last, the tension in Thorin's shoulders began to ease as he allowed himself to breath in the clean air deeply. As much as he loved the vast stone halls of the Lonely Mountain, fresh air was better for headaches. He almost laughed at that thought. _Why, Thorin Oakenshield, you _are_ getting old and soft._

Suddenly, his pony stopped and tossed its head back. Thorin, startled, nearly lost his hold on the reins. One hand went instantly to his sword hilt (he wasn't anywhere near complacent enough to leave Erebor without a weapon). He'd be a fool to ignore an animal's instincts, even one so flighty as a pony.

Then he heard the noise that had seemingly so startled his mount.

It was a strange noise; almost like a bestial moan, but higher in pitch. Almost a whimper, in fact. It seemed to be coming from just ahead. Riding any farther probably would've put Thorin and his pony right on top of the source.

With the ease of one well practiced in stealth (the dwarf version, anyway), Thorin swung off his mount and looped the reins around a nearby branch to prevent the animal from wandering off. Then he drew his sword, moving stealthily through the trees.

The noise increased only slightly in volume as he approached. And the closer he got, the more it bothered him. It was a sound that he'd never heard from any animal, and it made him incredibly nervous. _So pitiful..._

Soon he reached a large cluster of young pines. His ears told him that the source of the sound was right on the other side of them. Gripping his sword firmly, he inwardly counted to three before pushing forcefully through the scruffy trees.

The whimpering turned into a scream of terror as a the figure of a tiny little boy sprang off the muddy forest floor, throwing himself backwards away from Thorin.

Thorin stopped in his charge, feeling slightly foolish for trying to attack a _child_. Then he saw what the child had been kneeling next to.

Sprawled on the wet leaves, half-lying in a mud puddle, was a the body of a young girl. Blood still seeped from a six-inch long gash in her left arm.  
Forgetting the little boy, Thorin sheathed his sword and fell to his knees beside the girl. Hurriedly he felt for a pulse. Yes, there was one, but it was weak. Her skin was cold and clammy, and so pale.

Thorin looked her over quickly. Besides the cut on her arm, she appeared to have no other injuries save scratches and bruises. The wound looked as if it'd been made by an orc blade, considering how rough the edges were and how the raw flesh looked poisoned. Mahal, she appeared to be only in her early teens. And the boy…

Thorin looked up quickly. The boy crouched a few feet away, his dark green eyes wide in his filthy face. Taking a deep breath, Thorin asked, "Is this your sister?" Judging by their ages and the similarity in their facial features, it was his best guess. And a correct one, apparently, for the boy nodded shakily. Thorin stood up quickly, causing him to flinch.

There was no time to waste. Hurrying back through the trees, Thorin retrieved his pony and led it back to the hollow where he'd found the children. The boy hadn't moved at all.

In a matter of minutes, Thorin had hoisted the girl onto the pony and secured her to the back of the saddle. It didn't look comfortable, but it was the only way and besides, she was too deeply unconscious to notice anyway. Now for the hard part.

Taking care to move slowly, Thorin approached the tiny child, who cringed away. "I'm not going to hurt you," Thorin said as gently as he could. "I just want to take you and your sister somewhere safe." Noting how the boy was shivering and how he lacked a coat, Thorin carefully removed his fur-lined cloak. Slowly, he reached out and wrapped it around the cowering child.

The boy didn't struggle; to the contrary, he simply went limp and began to cry silently, choking sobs shaking his small frame. Feeling curiosity, pity and a strange twinge of protectiveness, Thorin mounted his pony, holding the tightly wrapped child before him and checking on the one tied on behind him before setting off towards Erebor.


	3. Unexpected Duties

_How in the world did I get into this situation?_

As the pony tried to slow its pace, Thorin gave it another kick. Never mind that it was overloaded with three passengers. There wasn't any time to consider the pony's feelings. It might already be too late to help the girl; at least the boy seemed uninjured. Then Thorin imagined what might have happened to the boy…to both of the children…if he hadn't found them. He shuddered. He didn't want to think about it. Just because Erebor was safe, that didn't mean that the surrounding lands were.

For what felt like the hundredth time, he checked to make sure the little boy was still breathing. His eyes were shut tight, but he was breathing far too shallowly to be asleep. Thorin kept one arm around him as they galloped back toward Erebor.

The moment he entered the gates of his kingdom, Thorin yelled for the nearest guards. There was quite a gathering of them at the front gate at most times; now was no exception. At first annoyed by a seemingly nondescript traveler (Thorin had not bothered to dress very lavishly for a simple ride), once they realized that it was their king calling, they came running.

Swinging off his mount (rather awkwardly, as he still held the boy), Thorin ordered, "Get the girl to the healers, quickly. Looks like a poisoned wound, possibly from an orc blade."

"Thorin!" He turned to find the towering bald dwarf Dwalin hurrying toward him. "Your Majesty, what happened? Who is _that_?" he demanded, staring at the girl now being borne away by at least four guards.

"Excellent question; I haven't the faintest idea. You!" he shouted at one of the remaining soldiers, "Get a patrol together! Scour the surrounding hills for any sign of an orc pack! Now!" He turned back to Dwalin. "I found them in the woods. No sign of anyone else."

"Them...? Wait, Thorin, is that a dwarfling?"

Thorin looked down; he'd almost forgotten the child cradled in his arms. "Possibly." He sighed. "Dwalin, I have no idea who they are, or what. All I know is that they need help. The boy's not injured, but the girl…I think she may be dying."

The moment he said it, he regretted it. The boy stirred fretfully in his arms and let out a shrill cry at his words. _Oh, by the beard of Durin…_

"My lord?" Thorin whipped around. A young female dwarf, garbed in a soldier's uniform, stood behind him, twisting her hands nervously. Her thick chestnut hair was braided and pulled back professionally; her beard, though sparse, was neatly combed. "Your Majesty, as I have not been given another task, I thought that I might be able to help with that child, unless he's injured, of course…" She trailed off, looking abashed.

Thorin frowned slightly, still inwardly occupied with thoughts of an orc pack. "No, he's not…Your name, Soldier?"

"Brekâ, my lord. My older sister has children; I thought she might be able to take care of this one; until further notice. Unless you had other plans for him?"

Thorin shook his head. "No, I didn't…Yes, take him to your sister. I want to be kept informed of his condition." He held out the boy, and Brekâ moved to take him.

By this point, Thorin had mostly given up trying to predict anything about the child, but he was completely taken aback by the child's reaction to being handed off to another dwarf. He instantly opened his mouth and let out a shriek that drove Brekâ back a step. It was surprisingly loud, coming from such a tiny creature. Then he promptly threw himself back onto Thorin's chest, burying his face in the collar of the king's thick coat.

"Well…" Brekâ seemed uncertain whether to act offended or amused. "I think he wants to stay with you, my lord."

"I'll say," muttered Dwalin. Thorin shot him a glare.

Despite that incident, Thorin tried several more times, completely unsuccessfully, to give the boy to Brekâ. Finally, he simply dumped the child in the young woman's arms, only to have the boy let out such a yowl that Thorin was certain that it could be heard in Dale. He gave up then.

"Fine. I'll take him for now." Now holding the child again, he apologized to Brekâ. "Thank you for trying. I'll tell you if I require any more…assistance with this…child." The young soldier bowed and retreated, leaving Thorin alone in a corner of the vast entrance hall with Dwalin and a child who simply refused to let go of him. "Dwalin," Thorin said, with more helplessness in his voice than he'd displayed in years, "what in the name of Durin am I supposed to do with…_this_?"

Dwalin stared at him for a moment, and almost smiled. "Feed him and give him a bath," he suggested.

With that, the tattooed warrior departed, leaving a very confused, yet resigned, king behind.

* * *

Feeding the child was easy. He ate like a starving Warg.

But oddly enough, Thorin did not find giving the child a bath all that bad. Mostly because he'd done it before.

It had been years, he reflected, over sixty or seventy at least, but yes, he recalled having to give his nephews baths when they were very young. They'd always managed to fall into mud puddles or dung heaps when he was stuck babysitting. Usually Thorin had made the mistake which led to their misbehavior, and would be desperate to clean up the evidence by the time his sister came home. Good times, those were.

Remembering the incident next to the gates, Thorin declined the offer of help from the servants who'd brought the bathwater. He had no desire to have his eardrums split by another one of the little boy's screams.

Still, it wasn't exactly easy.

The boy went stiff the moment the servants came in with the bathwater and remained extremely tense throughout the whole procedure. The only time he relaxed a bit was when Thorin washed his hair. He seemed to find it soothing. _At least he's not shrieking, _Thorin thought to himself.

Just as Thorin was working the last of the soap out of the small child's hair, someone knocked at the door. Automatically, Thorin called out, "Enter!"

The door opened and Fíli walked in. "Uncle, I've come to apolo…Who in Durin's name is _that_?" he yelped.

If he'd had the time, Thorin would have groaned. As it was, he barely had the time to grab the little boy as he half shot out of the tub, screaming and clearly scared out of his wits _again_. Thorin was quick, but he hadn't counted on the boy being so slippery from the water and soap.

The child wriggled easily out of his grasp and went fleeing towards the furthest corner of Thorin's chambers. Halfway there, he slipped and fell, hitting the stone floor and curling up into a ball instantly. His face remained visible, however; his wide eyes flicked nervously from Thorin, who was annoyed, to Fíli, who was confused.

Thorin grabbed a towel of a nearby chair and hurried to the boy's side, asking snappishly over his shoulder, "Did you _have_ to shout, Fíli? And I just got him calmed down!" Bending down, he picked up the shivering child and wrapped him tightly in the towel. Mahal, he was so blastedly _small_! Maybe Dwalin was right; maybe he _was_ a dwarf child. Holding him close, Thorin turned to deal with his nephew.

"I'm sorry that I snapped at you just now, Fíli. It's just…I found this child in the woods, along with his sister. His sister is very ill, and he…He won't let go of me. I tried to give him to someone else; he just screamed his head off." He sighed and looked down at the boy, who had once again buried his face in Thorin's shoulder. His wet, wavy locks dripped onto the towel and Thorin's shirt alike.

Fíli took a few strides closer, being careful to make no sudden moves. But the child must have heard his steps; Thorin could feel him tense. "So you have no idea who he is?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Fíli. I'm not even sure _what_ he is, human or dwarf. He won't speak, you see; he just whimpers and shrieks. A lot."

"What are you going to do with him?"

Thorin stared blankly at his nephew. "Remind me; after you and your brother got filthy in mud and Mahal knows what else on my watch and I had to give you both a bath, what did I do with you?" By that point he was too tired and too perplexed to recall.

"Um…you usually put us to bed." Fíli paused and smiled very slightly. "I must say, you gave me a turn when I walked in. It wasn't something that I expected."

Thorin chuckled. "Yes, I daresay it wasn't." He grasped a corner of the towel and rubbed it over the little boy's hair, trying to absorb some of the water. "Why did you come in here in the first place?"

"To apologize for my behavior this morning. I should've spoken with more respect." Fíli looked down.

"As I should have. We are kin; fights are to be expected, but this one…"

"Was pointless," Fíli finished, raising his gaze again. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to let it happen again."

"As will I." Thorin paused, watching the shadow the had come into Fíli's eyes at the mention of _kin._ "You miss him." He couldn't even say the name.

Fíli nodded slightly. "Yes. But that doesn't mean that you and I have the right to attack each other. Neither of us behaved admirably...either this morning or...back then."

Thorin was trying to come up with a decent answer when a tug at his beard distracted him. The little boy was looking up at him, then glancing back towards the dwarf prince, whimpering softly. "Sorry, Fíli, but I think you're making him nervous."

"I definitely scared him when I first came in…Hope he doesn't hold it against me forever."

"Rest assured that _I_ won't." 

Fíli laughed and left the room. Thorin turned back to the child, who had relaxed as soon as the other dwarf departed. "Well, little one," Thorin said wearily, "I guess I'm taking the rest of the day off from royal duties to take care of you. You ought to be flattered."


	4. Dreams and Memories

_The booming sound of thunder woke Thorin from a peaceful sleep. When he realized that it was nothing but a passing storm, he groaned, rolled over and shut his eyes again, only open them a moment later in response to a frightened whisper at the doorway of his room. "Uncle?"_

_Thorin sat up quickly. After allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he could dimly make out the two small, blurry figures across the room. One was clinging to the other._

_"Fíli? Kíli? What are you doing up?"_

_"_Nadadith's _scared of the thunder," Fíli answered. By his shaky voice, Thorin concluded that Kíli wasn't the only one frightened by the noise. "Uncle?" repeated the small child._

_He was very tired, but as usual, Thorin couldn't turn away his nephews. "Come up here then," he said kindly._

_Fíli scrambled onto his bed easily; Kíli required some assistance. Once they'd settled down, one on either side, he asked, "Would a story help?"_

_"Yeth!" lisped Kíli immediately._

_"One with a hero in it!" chimed in Fíli._

_Thorin chuckled and began to speak in a soft yet resonant voice, "Long ago, in a great dwarf kingdom deep within the mountains…"_

_He'd just come to the most exciting part when he realized that both dwarflings were fast asleep. Smiling to himself, he gently kissed their foreheads and leaned back against the pillows. He fell into slumber soon afterwards, an arm around each of his nephews._

* * *

Thorin woke up slowly, comfortably. _The storm must have passed by now_, he thought cheerfully. Probably his nephews wouldn't wake right away; he'd have to be careful not to disturb them. Eyes still shut, he began to ease out of the child's grip...

Wait, didn't he have _two _nephews?

Thorin's eyes flew open as the events of the day before came rushing back. Oh, _Mahal!_

He'd spent the day trying to finish the trade negotiation paperwork in his chambers. The little boy had spent that time curled up on Thorin's bed, but he'd refused to sleep. Every so often, someone would come in and he'd jump off the bed only to dive under it. Thorin had grown incredibly weary of coaxing him out.

Near nightfall, he'd received word that the girl was still unconscious and fevered, but alive. For now.

Soon after that, Thorin had eaten supper...and fed the child again...before facing the problem of where the child was going to sleep.

After taking a bath in his private washroom, Thorin had emerged back into his bedroom to find the boy already asleep on his bed. Thorin had had an internal debate over the issue; finally, he'd simply moved the boy over a few inches and climbed in next to him. Without waking, the child had curled into Thorin's side, cuddling up close, and reminding him painfully of the days when his nephews were young.

No doubt that was why Thorin had dreamed about them. 

Fíli and Kíli had once been afraid of thunder, among other things. It had not been uncommon situation, the boys coming to him for comfort or help late in the night. He'd soothe them, tell them a story, then fall asleep with one on either side. He did still miss that.

But what he really missed was Kíli. He missed his younger nephew, the raven-haired archer. But he knew that whatever he felt was nothing compared to what Fíli had suffered, and still suffered, at being separated from his brother.

His heir had been right. They had not behaved admirably when Kíli had announced his intention to marry Tauriel, the Silvan elf from Mirkwood. The former Captain of the Guard. The one who'd saved Kíli's life in Lake Town.

Thorin slowly got dressed as he recalled, with no small amount of shame, what had happened all those years ago.

* * *

_"Uncle, Fíli, Mother. Tauriel and I have an announcement to make."_

_"Oh?" Thorin eyed his nephew darkly. He didn't approve of that elf living in the Mountain, and the word "announcement" had an ominous sound. Fíli stopped stuffing slices of breakfast ham into his mouth and gaped at his brother and the elf, standing at the end of the table. Dís was the next to speak when the pause stretched for too long._

_"What is it, Kíli?" she asked quietly. "Say what you have to say."_

_Kíli shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Glancing upwards toward Tauriel's face, he took a deep breath and blurted out, "Tauriel and I wish to be married."_

_Silence. For all of three seconds._

_"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" bellowed Thorin._

_"She's an elf!" Fíli chimed in, more confused that upset at that point._

_Dís didn't speak right away; instead she stared at her youngest son, eyes narrowed as if calculating the weight behind his words._

_Kíli immediately grew angry. Drawing himself up to his full height...he still looked quite short next to Tauriel...he snarled, "I love her for who she is, not what she is. Haven't there been dwarf and human unions before? How is this any different?"_

_"Well…for starters she's an elf," Fíli said unhelpfully._

_Thorin ignored his first heir and focused his wrath entirely on the couple before him. "You would dare to suggest marriage to one of them? A slinking, cowardly, scheming elf?"_

_"Perhaps I should leave," Tauriel made as if to exit the room, but Kíli grabbed her arm._

_"No, my starlight, we stand together." Kíli turned back to his uncle with a glare. "Have you forgotten who saved my life when I was struck with a poison arrow? Tauriel did. Have you forgotten who saved my life on Ravenhill? Tauriel and Prince Legolas did. Have you forgotten who fought alongside us and the men of Lake Town against the orc hordes of Azog? The elves did! Your prejudice runs deep, Uncle. Perhaps you should considering throwing it out."_

_Thorin stared for a long, tense moment at his nephew who dared take him to task. Over elves, of all things! The king felt another wave of fury building inside of him. How dare Kíli speak to him that way? One of his own heirs was reprimanding him on bigotry!_

_Fíli stood suddenly, clearly hoping to avoid any physical confrontation in the dining room...Thorin _had_ been considering it. "Kíli, brother, think about what you're doing. Yes, the elves saved our lives…for what? So that they could have a share of the treasure under the mountain! That is the only reason their king led them to war, remember? It doesn't prove the good nature of elves, by any means!"_

_Kíli snorted. "Practicing to be Uncle Thorin, Fíli? 'Cause you're not doing a bad job so far."_

_"Treasure and wealth were never my desire," Tauriel broke in quietly. "Friendship and later love are what motivated me to assist your people."_

_"Oh, very fine woods coming from a woodland sprite!" Thorin snapped. Turning to his sister, he demanded, "Dís! Talk some sense into your son!"_

_The dark-haired dwarf woman sighed and said very softly, "Kíli, I can see your love for this elf maid. But it is madness."_

_"There! For once Dís agrees with me. Kíli, I do not care what this elf has done in the past or what she's promised to do. She is no fit bride for a dwarf!"_

_Fíli, who had been looking rather helpless, seized upon this. "Uncle Thorin is right about one thing, Kíli: She won't make a good wife. She's an elf, immortal! She'll tire of you and go back to her forest."_

_"Kíli, that is true. She's not mortal like you are. It's just not right," Dís added._

_"I have no intention of abandoning him, my lady Dís!" cried Tauriel, looking stricken at the thought._

_Thorin ranted on. "You shut up, elf! Kíli, you are behaving like a fool! I will never accept an elf as my second heir's mate!" _

_Something in Kíli seemed to snap at that moment. "_You_ will not accept her? _You_? You think that will stop our love; that it's something you can dictate like the flow of jewels from your mines to your treasuries? You believe that your approval is what we seek? Because you're wrong there, Uncle! I came here not to ask your permission, but to tell you to expect the inevitable! Tauriel and I will be wed, and there's nothing you or Fíli or Mother can do about it!"_

_"Kíli!" Fíli gasped, aghast._

_"Leave," hissed Thorin. "You will not wed your elf maid within the walls of my kingdom, I promise you that."_

_"Fine!" Kíli snarled back. "We'll leave. In the future, remember that it was you who drove your own kin from home. I hope this satisfies you." He and Tauriel turned to leave._

_"Kíli, no!" Fíli cried out. "Don't go!"_

_Kíli turned back and locked gazes with his brother. "I will not leave Tauriel, brother, not even for you. Will you shun us like Uncle or accept us?"_

_Fíli opened his mouth, then glanced at Thorin and shut it again, his expression a strange mix of anger and shame._

_Kíli laughed bitterly. "You've made it quite clear where you stand, Fíli. Come,_ amrâlimê. _We'll find no allies here." They left without another word, though Thorin could have sworn that he saw Tauriel cast them all a apologetic glance. It only made him angrier._

_"Nadadith…" whispered Fíli helplessly, but his brother was already gone._

* * *

Back in the present, Thorin dropped into a chair and rubbed his face with his hands. Kíli and Tauriel had left Erebor less than two hours after that fight. They'd never returned.

Fíli had allowed himself to succumb to anger in order to deal with the pain. But unlike Thorin, he hadn't been able to hold onto it for more than a few months. About a year after Kíli and Tauriel left, Fíli had followed them, hoping to find his brother and bring him home.

But the two forbidden lovers had vanished. Fíli had returned to Erebor, listless and despondent. When he did nothing but drift morosely around Erebor for a few months, Dís had gone to him and talked him out of his mourning state...though she was none to steady over it herself. It had helped them both; they still missed Kíli, but no longer mourned for him.

But the golden-haired prince was never the same without his brother. And it took Thorin many years longer to even consider forgiving his other nephew.

He still wasn't sure if he had. Thorin sighed. Why did he have to recall all this right now? Didn't he have enough to deal with?

Right on cue, he heard a series of confused squeaking sounds and turned in his chair to see the little boy sitting up on the bed, staring at him with those huge green eyes. Thorin sighed again. "Well, I guess it's time for breakfast."


	5. Names and Wagers

Fíli hurled another knife at the dummy, pleased with the solid crunching the blade created as it made contact with the straw. Grabbing two more, he sent them whirling through the air, impacting one after the other, exactly where he wanted them.

"If I start talking to you right now will you stop throwing those for a minute?" Fíli turned around to see Ori coming toward him, looking sheepish.

"Ori!" Fíli chuckled and put away the knife he'd just taken out. "Not often you come down to the training caverns!"

"Ah, well…" Ori grinned. "You know I like quill pens better than knives…"

"Isn't that the truth?" Dori appeared behind his younger brother, looking uncharacteristically cheerful. "I brought him down here to exercise a bit."

"I told you, Dori, I don't need to use weapons at all anymore! It's not like we're going against dragons right now!"

"But it is best to always be prepared for the worst!"

"_But _you're _always_ prepared for the worst!"

Fíli laughed at their bickering, even though it brought him a brief flash a pain to recall the similar conversations with his brother. "Dori has a point, Ori. But then, you _are_ a scribe, not a warrior."

"Ba! Scribe indeed," muttered Dori. Ori glared at him, or at least tried to...the expression did not come easily to his kindly face. Fíli chuckled again and turned back to the target, pulling another blade from his coat. He nearly missed the dummy when Dori asked, "So, Fíli, is the king really still looking after that mystery child?"

He swallowed and sauntered forward to retrieve some of his knives, mostly to gain some time.

It had been almost two weeks since those two children had come to Erebor. Fíli had not had much to do with them, but from what he had heard, the girl was still unconscious and fevered. The boy, however, had been far more visible.

Where Thorin went, the child went. If the king had to attend a council meeting, the boy hid under his chair. When he ate, the boy sat as close to him as possible or occasionally on his lap. Fíli knew for a fact that the boy slept next to Thorin for comfort, much as he and Kíli had once when they were scared of something.

The part that surprised Fíli, however, was the fact that Thorin didn't seem to mind the boy all that much. Actually, he seemed to rather enjoy having him around.

Taking his time returning to Dori and Ori, Fíli said, "Yes, he is. Have you not seen them?"

"Well, we don't go up to the royal levels very much; Ori here spends most of his time in the library. Hmph, libraries. Ah, I see some axes that would work for us…" Dori wandered off to a nearby weapons rack.

Ori watched his brother for a moment, shaking his head, before turning back to Fíli. "Um, Fíli?"

"Yes?" Fíli chose another knife and sent it spinning toward the target dummy.

"Well, uh…I just thought you ought to know that their have been…well, wagers going around."

Fíli paused, his hand poised to throw another blade. "What kind of _wagers_?"

"Well, several kinds…um, there's one over how long the king will keep pampering the boy…there's another bet over if he'll adopt him or not…not many people bet on that…and then there's this one about what race the two children are…"

Fíli dropped the knife he held. "Pardon me? What people?"

Ori blushed a deep red hue. "Mostly guards and servants. And I overheard a couple miners…Some are saying that they're elvish spawn. Others say they're the abandoned offspring of humans. Many insist that they must be dwarves…at least the boy…"

Grimacing, Fíli picked up the knife he'd dropped. "If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Thorin." He sheathed the knife and started for the nearest doorway.

Ori looked miserable. "I'm sorry!"

Fíli stopped, putting a hand on Ori's shoulder. "It's not your fault. Thank you…for telling me." He hurried off, leaving an extremely nervous scribe behind.

A short while later, Fíli approached the door to his uncle's rooms and knocked. A second later he heard Thorin call, "Enter!"

Going in cautiously, Fíli found Thorin sitting on the floor next to his bed, carefully braiding the strands of the little boy's hair. It was surprisingly long for such a young child. The king looked up as his nephew came in. "Fíli! I was wondering if you'd forgotten where I lived."

The little boy stared up at Fíli with mildly suspicious eyes. He still would allow no one to touch or get close to him save Thorin, but he no longer screamed and tried to hide whenever someone else came into the room.

Fíli took a deep breath and said, "Uncle, may I speak freely?"

"Please do so." Thorin fastened a small silver clip to the end of one of the boy's braids and stood. Fíli watched the child stand up and wander over to a small pile of carved toys, mainly animals, and begin playing with them. Following Fíli's gaze, Thorin explained, "Bofur has been bringing them by…the boy seems to get along better with him than most visitors." Thorin watched the child for a moment before turning back to his heir. "What is it you need to speak to me about, Fíli?"

Fíli dragged a hand through his golden braids. "Him, Uncle. I need to speak to you about the…child."

Thorin nodded and ushered his nephew into his study. "What is wrong, Fíli?"

"It's that kid, Thorin…" Fíli sighed and rubbed his foreheads. "How long are you going to…take care of him, exactly?"

It took Thorin longer that it should have to answer, in Fíli's opinion. "Until his sister wakes and can tell us who and where their parents are."

"And if she does not wake? I was under the impression that she has gravely ill." Fíli watched his uncle carefully.

"Then we…we hope that the boy eventually speaks. Then we…deal with the rest."

"You think he will speak someday? He hasn't said a word so far and we don't know that he ever will!"

"Oin examined him a few days ago…I managed to keep him calm enough for a while…he says there's no physical reason that he cannot speak. Mental, perhaps, but Oin says he may yet recover…"

"There's still a big hole in your plan. What if their parents are dead? What if they have no other family?"

Thorin turned away. "Then…then we keep him."

"You mean that _you_ keep him." Fíli didn't know whether to feel angry or just confused. What was with his uncle these days? He seemed so…_soft_.

"Yes." Thorin turned back to Fíli. "I've grown fond of him, Fíli."

Suddenly the object of their conversation appeared in the doorway. He walked over to Thorin and clung to his leg.

Fíli, momentarily distracted, managed to say, "But Uncle…he hasn't even got a name!"

"If he never tells us his, we'll give him one."

Fíli didn't miss the way Thorin gently tousled the child's hair as he spoke. He launched another protest. "Mother will certainly find this…interesting."

"Dís will probably agree with me for once." The boy started to tug on Thorin's sleeve.

"Still, you're the king and you can't take care of him all the time."

"I'm sure your mother will help."

"People will talk, Uncle. We have to be prepared for that."

The boy's tugging became more insistent. Thorin ignored it and said, "I am the King of Erebor, and I do not believe that this will be an issue, so therefore…"

The boy, realizing that his tugging was doing no good, let out a demanding cry.

"Not now, Kíli!" Thorin and Fíli snapped at the same time.

In the sudden silence that followed, the child whimpered and went scurrying under Thorin's bed in the next room. Thorin and Fíli continued to stare blankly at each other for a few moments longer. At last, Fíli said levelly, "There's wagers going around Erebor, wagers on who those children are, where they come from…and whether you'll adopt that boy or not. I just thought that you ought to know." He turned and walked out of his uncle's chambers.

The last thing he heard before he exited was the sound of the boy's sobs.


	6. Dwarf Songs and Younger Brothers

Two days. It had been two days since that little slip of the tongue which resulted with Kíli's name being spoken as it hadn't for years by his brother and uncle.

For both, it brought up painful memories. And a question.

_Why in Mahal's name did we call him Kíli?_

Though he had avoided the company of his uncle, Fíli had begun to take more interest in the boy. Watching him, Fíli noticed something almost...disturbing.

The boy looked like Kíli. Somehow, Fíli had not realized how much before. But now, whenever he looked at the boy, all he saw was a young version of his little brother.

It was disconcerting, to say in the least.

That was why he was now loitering outside the healing rooms, wondering whether he should go in and take a look at the still-unconscious sister of the boy. He had a theory, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to pursue it or not.

It was just too unthinkable.

"Fíli?" a gruff voice spoke from right next to him.

"Óin! You startled me!" The dwarf prince grinned sheepishly at the old healer, who was giving him a look reminiscent of the one he'd had on his face when he set Fíli's arm after a nasty fall from a neighbor's apple tree. 

"Eh? What's that?"

Fíli shouted obligingly into the ever-present ear trumpet, "YOU STARTLED…Oh, never mind."

"What?"

Rolling his eyes, Fíli yelled, "I have a favor to ask!"

"Yes?"

Fíli hesitated for a moment. "I need to see your patient!"

"Which one?" The healer added under his breath something along the lines of, "you impossible boy."

"The girl! The one Uncle Thorin found in the forest!"

"Oh, of course, _that_ one," Óin replied, next muttering, "He'll never change, will he? You don't have to shout _that _loud…" Sighing, he said, "She's still unconscious, your highness; though I believe her fever has finally broken. It's about time; I wasn't certain how long I could keep her breathing. She's a funny looking child…"

"I'd still like to see her, please. I won't disturb her, I promise."

Óin raised his eyebrows. "You could just order me to let you in…your highness."

Fíli snorted. "It wouldn't work with you, Óin, even if I tried. May I go in?"

"Can I stop you?"

Chuckling, Fíli walked into the healing chambers with the healer, greeted by the smell of pungent herbs. Óin led him to a small, clean room with a narrow slit for a window set far up the wall. The girl lay on a bed, covered completely by a dark brown blanket, save for her head, shoulders, and arms. But Fíli could see how thin she was.

A young female dwarf, who was bending over the girl, straightened and turned as the two male dwarves entered. "Her fever is still gone, Master Óin."

"Hopefully it will stay that way," the healer replied. "Excuse me, your highness, we have to attend to another patient. Idiot child tried riding an untrained pony…" He went off with the trainee, grumbling into his beard. Fíli turned his attention to the girl.

Her features were pale and delicate, her fingers, laying still on the coverlet, were long and slender. Her long, thick red hair, matted from weeks of neglect, fanned out against the white pillows.

_Red hair, _Fíli thought to himself. He reached out a hand and brushed on one of the tangles away from her left ear. The top of it came to a slight point.

Fíli felt a flutter of panic in his gut, but he strove to remain calm. He slowly backed away from the bed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was aimed for the door. Facing forward again, he froze.

The girl's eyes were open.

Wide, dark brown eyes met his ice blue ones in an distrustful glare. Fíli, unable to pull his gaze away, called as loudly as he dared, _"Óin! Come back in here! Quickly!"_

* * *

Thorin gently combed out another one of the little boy's braids and straightened the mussed strands with a few practiced tugs of a small comb. The child shifted a little. "Sorry if I pulled a bit," Thorin said as he began to separate the dark locks of hair into three strands. "Just another minute; this is the last one."

The boy simply leaned against Thorin's leg. The king sighed softly. "I wish you would talk to me, little one."

He looked down into the child's upturned face; his green eyes were wide and innocent. Thorin shook his head. "You're far too adorable for your own good. That's the look my youngest nephew used to give me when he had done something wrong…" He trailed off and continued with the braiding. After a few moments, he began to hum an old Khuzdul lullaby. To his surprise, the boy began to hum along, very softly at first, then more strongly. He clearly knew the melody. Thorin paused and the boy looked up again. "I don't remember teaching you this one, child!" Thorin eyed him for a minute. "All right, I'll keep going," he said, noting the beseeching look. He began the song again, beginning where he'd left off. This time he sang it. To his delight, the boy began to mouth the words. It wasn't exactly speaking, but it was a step closer.

When they'd finished the song, Thorin picked the boy up and put him on his lap. The child curled into his chest and twisted his fingers into Thorin's beard. "Where did you learn that song, hmm? I believe that Dwalin is correct; you are a little dwarfling." 

A moment later, Fíli burst into the room, startling them both. "Uncle!" he gasped. "The girl…his sister…she's waking up!"

Thorin's reply was drowned out by a distressed shriek from the little boy in his lap. Remembering the way he'd avoided all mention of the girl in the hearing of her brother, he asked quickly, "Is she all right? I mean, can he see her?" Poor lad probably wasn't sure if his sister was alive or not. It wasn't as if he'd asked.

Fíli, still breathing heavily, nodded. "Yes, she's been asking for him…well, yelling, actually; they've got something in common…"

Thorin, still holding the boy, pushed passed his nephew out into the hallway.

They could hear her from several hallways over. Despite her long illness, despite her weakness, they could most definitely hear her.

_"I don't care who you think you are! I want my brother!"_Her voice was high, but very hoarse from disuse. Thorin felt the little boy grow tense as he heard her words.

Once in the healing chambers, he wriggled free and ran into the room where his sister was, closely followed by Fíli and Thorin.

She was sitting up in the bed, lashing out verbally at anyone who dared come anywhere near her. Only Óin and one of his braver apprentices were still trying to calm her down; the other healers had backed themselves against the wall or escaped out the door.

"For Mahal's sakes, _calm down_!" Óin shouted just as the Thorin and Fíli came in on the heels of the boy. The girl merely let out a stream of verbal abuse that ended in a coughing fit that left her laying back, gasping for breath.

Thorin realized suddenly that besides the plethora of Dwarvish words in her speech, she also used several expressions that sounded…_Elvish?_

He nearly tripped over the little boy, who had frozen just inside the room. As Thorin was trying to regain his balance, the child screamed, _"Namad!"_

That certainly got her attention. "Kilian!" she cried as she turned and saw him.

He was in her arms in an instant, crying into her shoulder. She clutched him close, sobbing in relief. _"Nadadith…" _she whispered over and over.

Everyone but Óin, Fíli, and Thorin slipped out of the room. The remaining three watched the siblings clinging to each other for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually, the girl released her brother and slumped tiredly back into the pillows. The boy…_Kilian_, Thorin reminded himself…took a position next to her shoulder. Keeping her right hand on her brother's, she turned her head slightly, her face sagging with exhaustion. "Who are you? And where are we?" Her eyes flicked over the three adult dwarves with no lack of hostility.

"As I was trying to tell you while you were fighting us, " Óin huffed, "you are in Erebor. The Lonely Mountain. My name is Óin. I am a healer; I've been treating you for an infected wound from a poisoned orc blade, of all things. This is…"

"I am Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, and this is my first heir, my nephew Fíli. And you are?"

The girl's eyes widened at their names and titles, but her voice betrayed no emotion. "My name is Kara. And this is my brother Kilian; but I'm sure you already know that."

"Not exactly." Thorin exchanged a look with Fíli. "He hasn't said a word since he got here."

Kara bolted upright, turning to her brother. "What? Kilian?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out for a long moment. Finally, he whispered, "Kara…" Then he buried his face in her shoulder again.

She sighed and stroked his hair, then froze. "Who braided his hair?" she demanded.

"I did," Thorin snapped. "I'm also the one who found you two in the woods, more dead than alive. I've been taking care of him."

She eyed him doubtfully. "You sure you're a king?"

Fíli broke in. "He didn't trust anyone but Thorin for a while. Um, he still doesn't, come to think of it…"

Kara groaned and pressed her forehead to her brother's hair. "Oh, _nadadith_…" She turned back to the adult dwarves. "I thank you for your help. As a matter of fact, we were headed to Erebor. Our parents…" She stopped and clenched her jaw. After a moment, she continued, "Our parents told us to come here if they didn't come back from their journey…They didn't say where they were going, but they did say that if they didn't come back within a certain amount of time, we were to head for the Lonely Mountain. They said we'd be safe. It wasn't an easy journey, but we managed…at first. I didn't expect to meet a group of orcs along the way." She turned back to her brother and pulled him closer.

Thorin wasn't sure what to say, but Fíli asked, "Who are your parents?"

Kara looked up suspiciously. "Amad's and herbalist and Adad hunts…why?"

"That's not what I meant." Thorin glanced at Fíli, concerned. _He looks terrified_. "I need to know their _names_." The golden-haired prince sounded desperate.

Kara didn't hesitate. "Their names? Kíli and Tauriel."


	7. What Can and Cannot Be

Dwarves had once come from stone. And Thorin felt like he was returning to it.

For the longest moment, he remained frozen, inwardly and outwardly. He wouldn't have been surprised to discover that his heart had momentarily ceased to beat.

_It cannot be…_

Three words. Just three words, uttered once before in a flaming cluster of pines. Now Thorin could not even manage to say them aloud.

_It cannot be…_

Fíli reacted first. With a gasping sob, he fell to his knees, tearing his hands through his intricate braids. _"Mahal!" _The word seemed torn from his lips. Turning his head towards Thorin, he demanded helplessly, "How could we not have known, Uncle? _How?_"

Thorin had no answer. He was still turned to stone.

_"Uncle, will you sing us a song? Kíli can't sleep."_

_"Of course, Fíli. Let's make it a sleeping song tonight."_

_Soon the voice of the older dwarf filled the room with the gentle words of an ancient lullaby. Before long both little boys were fast asleep, wrapped in each other's arms. Thorin smiled and kissed their foreheads before standing to leave. "Goodnight, little ones."_

No matter how hard he wanted to run, to hide from the ruins of his ignorance, Thorin could not tear his eyes from the two children in front of him.

_It cannot be…But it is. _

She had her father's eyes; dark and fierce. He had his father's narrow features, his tangled brown hair. Yet her features recalled that of her elven mother, his eyes were leaf green. They were such a strange mix of the two lovers, of the two races..

They were Thorin's own kin.

The shell of stone that seemed to surround him shattered suddenly. He turned and reeled out of the healing chambers, gasping for breath. Shoving past anyone in his path, he stumbled blindly forward through the halls of stone he hardly deserved to rule.

It might have been mere minutes or hours before he reached his subconscious' goal; narrow balcony set far up on the mountainside, almost entirely open to the wintry air. He dropped down on his knees, barely able to breath.

_"Uncle! Watch me!"_

_Thorin watched with no small amount of pride as Kíli fired three arrows in quick succession the distant target; all three made their mark. "Excellent, Kíli! You will be a fine archer one day." Thorin put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Not many dwarves will approve of it; not many of our people have skill with bows; but being a exception is no crime."_

_Kíli hugged his uncle; a gesture which Thorin returned with equal warmth. "I'll be the best dwarf archer ever, Uncle Thorin! You'll see!"_

_Thorin laughed. "I have no doubt that you will."_

He had become a fine archer; far better than Thorin himself.

_Being an exception is no crime…_If only that had been the case.

_"Leave! You will not wed your elf maid within the walls of my kingdom, I promise you that!"_

Those words and others spoken with such hatred the day Thorin had driven his kin from Erebor.

_"I hope this satisfies you."_

"It doesn't." whispered Thorin, his voice rasping in his own ears. "Oh, by the crown of Durin, it does not." He covered his face with his hands and for the first time in many, many years, he allowed a few tears to fall.

_It cannot be…_

But it could. And it was.

* * *

Fíli was in a terrible state of mind.

Moments after his uncle had gone tearing out of the room as if a dragon was behind him, Fíli had followed, only to discover that his uncle was nowhere to be found. He returned to the healing chambers only to be shooed out by Óin, who had apparently managed to feed both children with a sleeping potion. "They'll be asleep for hours yet. When they wake, they will have questions." The old healer had then left Fíli to ponder that alone.

Unsure of where to go next, Fíli had wandered around the upper halls of Erebor for a while before he ran into a group of dwarves comprised of Dwalin, Balin, Ori, Dori, and Glóin. Instantly sensing that something was wrong with the prince, Balin had immediately asked, "Fíli? What is the matter, lad?" Noting Fíli's hesitance, he said, "Ori, Dori, Glóin, you lot go on down to the mines without us. We'll be there shortly." Of course Dwalin was staying; Balin and Dwalin had been almost like uncles to Fíli and Kíli while they were growing up. It wasn't that Fíli didn't trust the others; he just didn't feel right discussing his family's problems with them. There was less of a barrier between him and the two elder dwarves that now stood before him.

Fíli was physically tired from days of sleep deprivation due to unsettling questions and mentally exhausted from the recent familial revelations. He longed to unburden himself.

So after quickly checking to make sure that no one else was near, he faced Balin and Dwalin and burst out, "I'm an uncle."

That hadn't been what he wanted to say. But the statement was so utterly blunt, and so utterly _true_, that Fíli couldn't help but laugh half-hysterically. "I'm an uncle," he repeated, and promptly began to cackle even more helplessly. He forced himself to stop when he felt tears gathering in his eyes. By that point, it took all his self-control not to chuckle again at the expression on Balin and Dwalin's faces.

After exchanging a glance with his brother, Balin asked carefully, "Fíli, lad, whatever do you mean by that?"

All energy drained, Fíli slumped against the nearest stone pillar. "I mean just what I said. I'm an uncle." Noting the raised eyebrows of the other two dwarves, he clarified, "Those children. The ones Uncle Thorin found in the woods. They're Kíli's. They're Kíli's children that he had with that Elf." He sighed and shut his eyes, suddenly longing for sleep. "I don't know where Uncle went." he added tiredly.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes. Balin looked at him kindly. "You're worn out, lad. Come along; you clearly need rest. We'll decide what to do tomorrow."

Fíli nodded halfheartedly and glanced around. "Where's Dwalin?" he asked, noting that the hulking warrior had disappeared.

"He's gone to find Thorin. Your uncle will be in good hands." Balin gently guided the weary prince to his rooms. He patted Fíli's shoulder before leaving him at the door. "It'll be all right, lad."

As Fíli stumbled into his bedroom and fumblingly got ready for bed, he wondered, _Will it really be all right?_


	8. Guilty Feelings and Early Letter Writing

The sun slowly sank down behind the distant Misty Mountains, sending out slender tendrils of reddish light through gaps in the wispy clouds.

Thorin felt dimly grateful for the thick fur coat he wore; it excused him from any need to return to the inside of the mountain. He didn't know how long he'd been on the balcony, only that it must have been hours, judging by the sun. He didn't really care.

_How could I have been so stupid?_

He had been so foolish. How could he not have recognized Kíli in the little boy? How could he not have recognized that Elf in the girl?

_Kara and Kilian; they have names, you know._

Thorin groaned softly. He'd been so foolish. Not just about the children.

_How could I have pushed my own kin away like I did? How have I not felt the remorse until now?_

Because he hadn't seen the proof of his cruelty until now.

_Those children nearly died._

Their parents had left them; Mahal knew why but if Thorin knew one thing, it was that his nephew Kíli would not abandon his own children unless he had to. Now where was he? Lost, injured, or worse?

_This is all your fault._

"I know," he whispered hoarsely, but it didn't help.

_You drove them away._

"I know!" he screamed suddenly. His cry echoed eerily against the mountainside. Forcing himself not to shout again, Thorin slumped back against the nearest balustrade of the stone balcony. Despite his fur coat, he shivered in the chilly air.

What had he done?

_I told them to go._

All Kíli had wanted was to marry the woman he loved. She just happened to be an Elf. Thorin hated elves, true enough; he found them dangerous, untrustworthy. Even having an alliance with the king of Mirkwood hadn't changed that.

But hadn't Tauriel proved her devotion many times over?

_I forced them to leave._

They must be in trouble. Kíli and Tauriel must have gotten themselves into grave danger if they'd left their children alone for so long. They'd told Kara and Kilian to come to Erebor if necessary; clearly displaying trust in him that Thorin felt was wholly misplaced.

Or maybe they'd meant for the children to come to Fíli, who would be motivated towards kindness by love for his absent brother. Though somehow the duty of an uncle had fallen to Thorin instead, in the case of Kilian. He hadn't known the truth, but he should have suspected. Kilian was so much like Kíli at that age.

Where in the name of Durin was his missing nephew now?

_I drove them away._

He wished that he could take back every word; every action that he had performed that had made Tauriel feel unwelcome and Kíli misunderstood. But it was far too late now. It might be too late to find either of them.

He sensed another person on the balcony with him before he heard Dwalin's soft grunt, "Thorin?"

He looked up at his old friend but made no move to rise or speak. After a long moment, Dwalin grunted again, this time wordlessly, and sat down next to him. "Fíli told Balin and I about the children."

_Fíli_. How could have Thorin forgotten about him? He was so absorbed in himself, he had forgotten about the other person most affected by the truth. "I am a fool, Dwalin," he said painfully. He glanced over to see Dwalin staring at him fixedly. "I am the greatest fool to ever walk Middle Earth."

Dwalin shrugged. "We all make mistakes, Thorin."

"Not like I do. " Thorin stared off into the fading sunset. "I convince everyone of my strength. I rule my subjects with justice and mercy. Yet I can spare none of it for my own kin."

Dwalin sighed heavily. "You _are_ a great king."

"But a terrible uncle." Thorin clenched his jaw and continued to stare into the distance as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the Misty Mountains. He almost didn't hear Dwalin when the bald warrior muttered, "Great-uncle, now."

Thorin whipped around to look at his companion. "I suppose you're right," he admitted. "Doesn't change what I've done."

"You made a mistake, Thorin. Just a mistake."

"I pushed away my own kin. For all I know…They may be dead, Dwalin! My nephew and his elf maid…_Tauriel_…may be dead and gone beyond recall. It may be to late to make amends in any way! This is my fault! If they're dead, it's _my fault!_"

He broke off, breathing heavily. Dwalin allowed a few moments to pass before he replied, "You're right." When Thorin stared at him, confused, Dwalin continued, "It may be too late for Kíli and his elf. It's not too late for those children."

Thorin turned away, his gaze wandering over the dimming fields and hills of Middle Earth. The two dwarves remained there until the last sunlight had left the world and the sky was strewn with stars.

* * *

Fíli woke suddenly. Judging by the bit of sky visible outside his bedroom window, it was still late in the night or possibly very early in the morning. He moaned softly as the memories of the day before rushing back. But even his dreams had been haunted by the faces and voices of the two children. His brother's children. Kara. Kilian. He supposed that he was stuck with them now.

Why had he woken up just then? He frowned, thinking hard for a moment, before it occurred to him. Of course. He had a letter to send, didn't he?

He couldn't believe that he'd disregarded this the day before.

After a few minutes of fumbling around in the dark, he managed to light a candle. A long time later, when dawn's first light had just begun to creep into the sky, he took his finished letter…more of note, really…donned some day clothes and left his rooms for the ravens' aerie. He left behind quite a stack of ruined parchment, bearing testimony to his previous failed attempts to inscribe his note.

By the time he'd located a raven able to carry the letter, he was just as tired as ever. Once he saw the bird off, flying over the frosted plains, he hurried down the nearest staircase, contemplating sneaking in another couple hours' sleep. Lost in thoughts of his comfortable bed, he ran straight into Balin.

"Oof! Sorry Balin!" he apologized quickly.

The old dwarf waved it off. "Not to worry, lad. What brings you up here at this hour?"

Fíli grimaced. "I had to send a letter."

Balin looked at him with understanding. He knew, of course. "Lady Dís?"

"Aye." Fíli sighed. "Mother."


	9. Questions and Nightmares

Fíli spent an inordinate amount of time on breakfast that morning.

He had barely gone back to sleep...fully dressed...after his trip to the raven aerie before he was roused again by a loud knock on the door. Stumbling up to answer it, he had found a young female guard he vaugely recognized. "Whasthematter?" he had slurred, probably not making a great appearance as Prince of Erebor, but he was _tired_.

"Your highness." She had bowed. "The healer Óin sent me to tell you that he needs you to come to the healing chambers as soon as possible." She eyed him. "What shall I tell him?"

Mahal, she'd probably thought he was drunk, when he was only...somewhat traumatized. And very sleepy. "Tell him…" Oh, by the beard of Durin, it was about those children. He would have to talk to them now; he would have to answer their questions.

He highly doubted that Thorin would.

When the silence had stretched a little to long, the guard said, "I'll tell him that you'll be there as soon as you can manage it; is that alright?"

Fíli had blinked stupidly for a minute. When he'd awoken to write the letter, where had all that energy come from? Shaking himself, he had replied, "Yes…tell him that…"

The guard had bowed again and headed down the a hall.

Fíli had been putting off the visit to the healing chambers ever since.

After he could prolong breakfast no further, he took extra care brushing and braiding his hair and mustache. He then wandered around Erebor for a while, looking for something to do that wouldn't involve going to visit the children, but he had no princely duties to perform that morning.

He didn't see Thorin, either.

Finally, he could put it off no longer. He headed to the healing chambers.

He found them both in the girl's room. The boy was curled in her lap, listening with wide eyes as she told a story. Fíli remained silent leaned against the door frame to listen. She had a lively voice and used it well.

"…so from then on, the dwarf king and his advisers agreed not to hoard the precious metal called _mithril_, and the angry feuds within the kingdom ceased." Kara gave her brother a quick, one-armed hug. "And they all lived happily ever after." She glanced up and caught sight of Fíli. He heard her draw her breath in sharply, but when she spoke, her words were calm. "I wondered if you'd actually show up."

Fíli pushed himself off the door frame and entered the room. "May I?" He gestured to the chair next to the bed.

She shrugged. "If you'd like." She cocked her head to one side and asked, "Would it make a difference if I said no?"

Taken aback, Fíli said, "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" He settled into the chair. Noting Kilian's gaze fastened upon him, he managed to smile briefly at the boy. To his surprise, the boy responded with a similar fleeting smile.

"Well, aren't you royalty? Don't you practically own this mountain?"

"No, Thorin does." Fíli decided to get the worst over with before he lost his nerve. "So, I suppose that you have questions for me, as I do for you?"

"Yes, but I think I already know the answers. At least, some of them." Kara met his gaze with eyes startlingly like her father's. "How are you related to my father, exactly?"

Fíli's jaw dropped; he quickly disciplined it. "How did you…"

"Your names differ by one letter. And with your reaction to my parents' names…It wasn't difficult."

When it became clear that she was waiting for an answer, Fíli managed to say, "Your father was…is my younger brother."

"I thought so." Kara's brow furrowed. "That makes you my uncle."

"Yes, it does."

She glanced down at the child in her lap. He was playing with her hair, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. "That would make us royalty, I suppose?"

"Um…yes. Your father and I…our mother is Thorin's younger sister."

"Hmm." Kara narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't Adad ever mention you?"

Fíli opened his mouth, but was unable to think of anything to say except, "He never mentioned me at_ all?_" He felt hurt…no more than that; he felt betrayed. Certainly, he'd known already from Kara that Kíli hadn't spoken his name, but not even acknowledging his existence?

_How could my brother do such a thing?_

"He said he had a brother." Well, that was something. "But he never stated your name or if you were alive or not…to be honest, I thought my uncle was dead."

Fíli couldn't meet her gaze any longer. "We didn't…uh…we did not part on the best of terms."

"He didn't try to kill you, did he?"

Fíli, knowing full well that he was wrong to feel so, felt a surge of anger. "It's my turn to ask the questions. Where are you from?"

The had a bit of a glaring contest for a while, but Kara soon gave up and said, "I was born in a small village in the southern region of Eriador, but I don't remember it much. Adad and Amad preferred to travel a lot…I remember living in Rohan for a while, and we also lived in the Weather Hills for a short time…Most recently, we were living in the forests northwest of Mirkwood. Our house wasn't far from a small farming town, but we kept to ourselves." She smiled. "Adad and Amad attracted a lot of stares, if you know what I mean."

Oh, he knew exactly what she meant. "Where are they now?"

The humor vanished from Kara's features instantly. "I told you I don't know!" she almost shouted.

Kilian stopped messing with her hair and let out a frightened squeak. Immediately remorseful, Kara tried reaching out to her brother, but he slid off the bed and cowered in a corner of the room. Kara half-rose out of the bed, then let out a sudden groan and fell back onto the pillows. "He hasn't been right since we came here. What did you lot do to him, anyway?"

Stung by the accusation in her tone, Fíli snapped, "He was like that when you got here. What did _you _do to him?"

Now it was his turn to feel remorse. Just before a mask of fury covered Kara's visage, he caught a glimpse of acute pain. "Look, I'm sorry," he said before she could yell at him. "Truly I am. It's just…"

Kara's face remained angry, but she refrained from screaming at him as she interrupted, "It must have been the orcs. They got to him first…I heard him screaming…" Her words trailed off and she looked over and the trembling boy in the corner. Lowering her voice, she went on, "They didn't hurt him, not physically, they wanted him for sport I think and they didn't have him for long. But they didn't reckon with having me around. I had my bow."

Of course she was an archer. With parents like that…But she was speaking again, this time more slowly. "I don't know why our parents left. I only remember that Adad went hunting, and when he came back, he was really worried and talked with Amad for hours in low voices. The next day, they left…and they didn't come back." Kara bit her lip and looked down at her idle hands. "They always come back," she whispered.

Fíli watched her struggling to hold back tears while steeling himself against some of his own. He wanted nothing more in that instant that to comfort her somehow, but that was just it…_how_?

Reaching a decision, he rose and approached Kilian, still crouched on the floor. Kneeling in front of him, Fíli held out his arms and said gently, "Come here, Kilian."

After a moment of hesitation, the little boy accepted the invitation and walked into his uncle's embrace. Standing and turning, the child held firmly in his arms, Fíli said to Kara, "You've been ill; get some rest."

Kara began to protest. "But Kilian…"

"He's right, though," Óin put in gruffly as he entered the room. "Besides, I need to check your arm again and your brother should not be in here for that." He had his ear trumpet out, Fíli noted.

Kara looked disgusted. "It's been two weeks! Surely it's healed up by now!"

"Actually it reopened three times. Haven't you ever heard of an infection?" The old healer shooed Fíli..and Kilian...out, muttering darkly about unreasonable patients. Suppressing an amused smile, Fíli carried Kilian out of the healing chambers. "How about some fresh air?" he asked the little boy, who peered up at him rather like a tiny dark owl. Fíli noted his barely visible smile. "I'll take that as yes."

* * *

Thorin strode through the halls of Erebor, trying to keep out of sight. That wasn't easy when one was a king.

He'd managed to avoid any government dealings during the earlier part of the day by locking his doors and pleading a passing illness. He knew it wouldn't fool anyone who really knew him...Balin and Dwalin, for example...but those people would kindly let him be.

But like a caged eagle, Thorin could not remain comfortably cooped up for long.

He didn't know exactly where he was headed, but he soon found himself up on the high battlements above the front gate of Erebor. Nodding to a couple guards who were sharing a meal next to a stone pillar, Thorin took a step out onto the balcony.

Only to pull back a second later when he saw the two people occupying the battlement. He was rather surprised that he hadn't heard them before.

"So," the golden haired dwarf was laughing from his seat next to the balustrade, "Mother looked into the stew pot and said, 'Brother, I think we'll have to postpone dinner until we can get rid of this' because, you see, Kíli had put the poor fish in the pot instead of the bucket!" Fíli chuckled and clipped a silver bead onto the end of a newly done braid in Kilian's hair. Then he added, "Uncle was furious! But he thought it was pretty funny afterwards, anyway."

Thorin could have sworn that he heard little Kilian giggle. Silently, he watched the child feel his braided hair then quickly jump up to hug his uncle. Fíli hugged him back and said, "I bet you'd have thought of that prank, too." He seemed so comfortable with his nephew already.

Thorin retreated, his heart aching.

* * *

_The sounds of battle surrounded him. He found himself completely on automatic, swinging and parrying without conscious thought as hoards of the enemy thronged around him. In a slight lull, he looked around wildly, but he could not find the one he sought, "Frerin!" he bellowed. "Brother!" But he was nowhere to be found._

_Just then, Thorin heard a roar of triumph from the orc leader Azog. Looking up, he saw the great pale orc standing triumphant on a hillock, the head of Thror clasped in one fist by the hair._

_Thorin felt a rush of disbelief immediately drowned out by horror. "NO!" he screamed, just as he felt a searing pain tear through his chest._

_He glanced down for an instant, expecting a spear or dagger at least, but he was uninjured. He looked up again just in time to see his grandfather's head tumbling down the hillside._

_The horror and pain vanished in an instant, replaced by fury. Roaring in anger, Thorin charged forward to challenge Azog._

_Time seemed to blur; the next thing he knew Azog was being carried back through the gates of Moria, howling in pain. His arm lay on the ground before Thorin, who now gripped an oaken branch for a shield. He turned to his people, still being driven back by orcs, and bellowed with all the ancient strength of his race that he could summon, "Du Bekar!"_

_And his people rallied, "DU BEKAR!"_

_Time blurred again; the battle was over. But the dead were so many. Thorin stood on a mound above the waste of battle, the pain in his chest still burning from a nonexistent injury. He surveyed what remained of his people; to fall was glorious, to triumph was…heartbreaking._

_"Thorin!" The dwarf prince could hear his friend Dwalin's voice, shot through with pain and fear. Turning, Thorin located the tall warrior and hurried toward him. "Dwalin! What…" He froze, a short ways from his friend still._

_The ache in his chest throbbed, expanding until all else was blotted out. "FRERIN!" Thorin heard himself scream. Dropping his weapons, he fell to his knees beside the lifeless body of his brother. "No! _Nadad_, no!"_

"No!" Thorin shouted, bolting upright in his bed. It took him several long moments to calm himself, to assure himself that it had been a memory, a dream. It took him even longer to realize that someone was pounding at his door.

"What? Who is it?" he called, caught between pain and anger, the nightmare still clinging to him.

"Thorin! It's me, Balin!"

Thorin forced himself to climb out of bed and open the door. "Balin, what in Durin's name…"

Balin interrupted him. "Thorin, it's the boy."

"Kilian?" Thorin could hear the fear in his own voice. "What's happened?"

"I'll explain on the way." Balin waited until Thorin had managed to locate and throw on his fur coat before leading the way to the healing chambers, moving incredibly fast for a dwarf his age.

"I was up late tonight, and I needed to speak to Óin, so I went by the healing chambers; he was not in his own rooms. That's when I heard the boy."

Thorin needed no other explanation at that moment. Lengthening his stride, he ran past Balin toward the healing chambers.

He had barely reached the outer doorway before he heard the screams.

The screams of a young child.

Pushing passed the small cluster of healers gathered in the antechamber, Thorin entered the room where he knew the child to be.

Óin and one of his apprentices were restraining Kara, who was yelling at the top of her lungs in three languages, from leaping off her bed. Fíli was standing near her, looking bewildered. He saw Thorin first. "He won't stop!" he shouted over Kilian's earsplitting shrieks. "Kara and Óin and I have tried everything!" He pointed to the little boy crouched in a corner.

Thorin pushed passed him, then halted as Kara spewed out a string of swear words at the king and the healers. But Kilian had already seen him. With one last loud wail, he charged across the room and latched onto Thorin's legs.

Kara broke off her ranting and attempts to reach her brother, apparently in astonishment. Thorin ignored her, bent down, and picked up the little boy, holding him close as his tiny body shuddered with sobs. "Shh, shh, it's alright," he murmured gently. It took a while, but the child's helpless cries ceased and the boy lay still in his arms. "It's alright; you're safe," Thorin comforted him.

To his surprise, Kilian raised his face to look at Thorin. "Where…were…you?" he whimpered.

Thorin stared in shock for a moment before it hit him. _The boy had missed him_. Thorin felt another flare of guilt. "It's going to be okay," he said. "I'm not going to leave you again."

"Promise?"

Thorin leaned down and pressed his forehead to Kilian's. "Promise," he murmured.

Looking up again, he met the bewildered gaze of Kara. Taking a deep breath, Thorin said, "You and your brother are welcome here in Erebor."


	10. An Arrival and Familial Tensions

Dís could see new snow sparkling on the upper slopes of the Lonely Mountain. Pretty, she supposed, but in truth what it really told her was how close she was to being home.

_Going home_ still had a nice feeling to it. Erebor had been the place of her birth. She'd still been very young when she'd been torn from it, and much of her life had passed before she returned. But it was home, as Ered Luin could never have been. Every time she came back to the Lonely Mountain, she still felt a slight thrill of joy.

Even when she was worried about what awaited her.

Allowing her docile pony to follow dutifully behind her two bodyguards, Dís reached into the satchel at her side and removed the reason she had come hurrying home several weeks before she had planned to.

It was a brief, curt note written in her eldest son's handwriting. She had read it so many times since receiving it by raven in the Iron Hills that it was nearly falling apart. Still, she anxiously scanned the words again, hoping for more information to glean from the missive.

_Dear Mother,_

_I need you to come back to Erebor as soon as possible. It's important._

_Your loving son,_

_Fíli_

Dís glared at the now-faded bit of parchment as if it could help the words it contained. It wasn't like Fíli to be so abrupt. He might skim over details that he felt would make her worry, but he'd never before restricted a letter to two sentences. She couldn't imagine what would make him do so.

No, that was wrong. She could think of one thing.

_Kíli._

That what was Dís feared the most. Her precious younger son had been gone for so long, she usually felt nothing but a dull ache that never really went away. For a long while she'd been more preoccupied with her eldest child, who'd been so devastated. Even after he had begun to recover from his brother's loss, he'd never been the same.

For instance, he used "I" in his letters, not "we".

Kíli and his elf would be alone out in the world with no one else to help and protect them. Dís had reminded herself over and over again that Kíli was no child, he could take care of himself and no doubt Tauriel would do her utmost to defend him. Still, not knowing….But there had been the hope that they would both be alright.

What if Fíli had discovered something that shattered that hope forever?

Dís could understand that. If Kíli was…Fíli would want to tell her personally.

The dwarf female stuffed the letter back in her satchel and straightened in the saddle. She didn't particularly like riding, but speed was of the essence in this situation.

Her son and brother had better be ready to give her a decent explanation.

* * *

Darkness had nearly fallen before Dís, her bodyguards, and her handmaiden entered Erebor. As she dismounted from her pony, Dís looked around, but no one was nearby save the gate guards. Annoyed and more than a little concerned, she yelled at her handmaiden. "Svena! Take my pack up to my chambers! I'm going to have a little chat with my son who-asks-me-to-come-home-without-any-explanation-whatsoever." The last part Dís muttered to herself as she swiftly headed for the royal living quarters.

She'd barely gotten halfway there before she heard a call from behind her. "Mother!"

Turning, she smiled broadly and held out her arms. "Fíli!"

Her son hugged her far more tightly than he had in years. Surprised, a little pleased, and even more worried, Dís released her son from a tight embrace, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "Fíli, what is going on? Why did you…"

Fíli interrupted her. "Amad, it's going to take a lot of explaining." He stopped, calling forth another rush of fear in Dís.

"Fíli…is it your brother?" She had to ask.

Fíli hesitated. "Yes…and no." he said. "It's probably best if I just show you..."

By this point, Dís was getting angry. "Then hurry up and show me, Fíli, before I lose what little patience I have left," she growled. Her son was being impossible. She couldn't seem to decide between irritation or worry. He wasn't acting like a tragedy had occurred; that was something, she supposed.

But what did "yes and no" mean? Could there be a "yes and no" connected with Kíli?

Fíli led her along through the halls, passing only a few dwarves on the way due to the lateness of the hour. It didn't take Dís long to realize where they were headed. "The healing chambers?" A rather alarming thought occurred to her and she snapped, "Fíli, please don't tell me that your uncle did something stupid to himself!"

Fíli actually had the nerve to laugh. "Oh, no, Mother; it's not Uncle Thorin. In truth, I think he's been rather sensible lately."

Dís was very close to smacking him for sheer irrationality, and might have if they hadn't reached the healing chambers at that instant. Fíli hurried in without a pause, calling out a brief greeting to a couple apprentice healers sorting herbs at a stone table.

They were nearly to a door of a side room before Dís heard a young feminine voice snarl, "I don't like her at all."

"You don't like anyone you've met here." Dís recognized her brother's deep voice. "Maybe if you stopped spitting curses at the healers every time they walk in here you would like them better."

"I doubt that." Dís, who had halted in her tracks, heard the girl mutter those words, but Thorin didn't acknowledge them.

"Where in the name of Durin did you learn such words, anyway? And don't you dare say your father taught you."

"Adad didn't swear often. Every time he did Amad would give a reproachful look and he'd get all remorseful. Why are you braiding Kilian's hair again? I thought you did that this morning."

"His hair falls out of its braids as much as mine did when I was that age. Besides, I think he finds it soothing; don't you little one? You still didn't answer my question."

Dís whipped her head around to stare at Fíli, who simply shrugged and gestured toward the door. With a sigh, Dís stepped up to the door and looked in.

Thorin sat on a chair across from the bed where a girl with long red hair lay, propped up and looking bored. The king held a little dark haired boy in his lap.

Dís had hardley taken in this scene before the girl spoke, "I learned what I wanted to learn. Kilian can sleep with me tonight; he won't hurt me."

"That will be difficult as he hardly lets me out of his sight and I'm not staying down here all night. And you wanted to learn swear words? How old are you anyway? I've got a rough estimate…"

"None of your business." The girl made a face at Thorin, who was occupied with the boy's hair and didn't seem to notice.

"It is too my business," Thorin replied in a tone of forced calm. "Is there a particular reason that you are so disagreeable today?"

"Would you like just one or the whole wheelbarrow load?"

Fíli cleared his throat from behind Dís, and Thorin and the girl looked up. "Looks like we have company," the girl drawled.

Thorin stood quickly, still holding the boy. "Sister!" he said with a smile. "You're back already!" But he seemed nervous, his smile strained.

Dís was no fool. While she had listened to the bickering, she had used her eyes to examine the two children. The girl's fair features recalled those of an elf, but her eyes were lively and dark. Her thick red hair was rather familiar as well.

The boy was easier. Looking at him now Dís could see his green eyes, but other than that, he was her youngest son in miniature. Meeting her brother's eyes, she whispered, "Thorin, are these…"

His strained smile faded and she could see tears sparkling in his eyes. "Yes."

At that moment, Dís couldn't decide whether she found the fact that she had grandchildren more or less startling than the fact that Thorin Oakenshield was treating them…_nicely_.

She felt Fíli grip her arm, apparently worried about her balance. He needn't have been; Dís had heard worse news in her life and taken it standing on her own two feet.

Pulling away from her son, she approached Thorin. He nodded slightly in response to her unspoken question and turned to the child he held. "Kilian," he said softly, "This is your grandmother. Can you say hello to her?"

The little boy stared at Thorin for a long moment before turning to Dís and whispering, "Hello."

He didn't struggle when Thorin handed him to Dís. She held him gingerly for a minute; he was tense at first, but slowly his defenses melted away and he snuggled into her chest. She hugged him, feeling a few tears dripping down her cheeks. He was so much like Kíli…

Looking over the boy's shoulder, she met the gaze of her brother, her eyes asking another question. He gave the tiniest shake of the head. She nodded to let him know she understood; they'd discuss the children's parents later.

"Tired," mumbled Kilian against the front of her traveling tunic.

"I'll take him for a minute." Dís handed the child to Fíli, reluctantly. She didn't want to let him go, just in case he vanished before she could have him back again.

Shaking off that silly thought, she turned toward her other grandchild, only to find that Thorin and the redhead were glaring at each other with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Dís was struck by the similarity in their expressions, despite the fact they looked nothing alike physically. She smacked Thorin on the shoulder to get his attention. He glanced at her apologetically and said, "This is Kara." He then glared at the girl again.

Kara made another face at Thorin before turned her attention to Dís. "Hello." Her gaze flickered over to where Fíli was holding Kilian. As her eyes met Dís' again, the dwarf woman saw a what could be described as a formidable barricade within them. "My brother seems to have accepted you well enough." Her voice was cold, remote.

Though she wasn't looking at him, Dís distinctly heard Thorin sigh.

* * *

"She isn't the easiest person to get along with."

Sitting in her brother's chambers a short while later, Dís couldn't help but chuckle. "That is a bit of an understatement, Brother." She ruffled Kilian's hair; he had fallen asleep in her lap. "This little one seems nice enough."

Fíli looked up from where he was sharpening one of his daggers by the fireplace. "He doesn't speak much, just so you know."

"Only a word or two at a time," Thorin added, "Occasionally a short sentence. We're not sure why."

"Kara claims he was briefly held prisoner by orcs, but she refused to say much after that."

"Other than swear words?" Dís raised her eyebrows. Kara was seeming more and more..._impossible_. At the very least unreachable.

Thorin sighed. "I've tried getting through to her; it doesn't work."

"She doesn't trust us," put in Fíli, "and seems to think that we don't trust her, either." He paused, considering. "I only saw her crying once. When she was exhausted. She's rested up and hardened since."

Weary of the currently useless discussion, Dís turned to Thorin and queried, "Where are their parents?" Her voice was urgent.

"They don't know." Thorin suddenly looked years older. "Kíli and Tauriel left on some sort of quiet mission; they told their children to stay put for a couple weeks. If they weren't back by then, Kara and Kilian were to head for Erebor. They did, they almost got killed by orcs, I found them in the forest…and the rest," he waved his hand dismissively, "is history." He then looked down at his hands. Dís recognized the expression on his face. She'd seen it all too often before.

_Guilt._

"Try not to blame yourself too much, Brother." she said.

But she knew he would anyway.


	11. Found and Lost

_"Thorin!"_

Thorin winced at the sound of his sister's voice. He looked down as Kilian appeared from under the table he was working at. The child's eyes were wide, but more curious than terrified. "Yes, I know, little one, she is loud."

Dís burst in. "Thorin, have you seen Fíli? He said he was going to…"

Thorin sighed. "Dís, he went out. He was _supposed_ to tell you that."

Kilian, who had brightened at the sight of his grandmother, jumped up and ran to her. Dís' demeanor softened instantly. "There you are, sweetheart!" She picked him up and hugged him. Turning back to Thorin, she said, "Well, he didn't. Where did he go? Dale? Lake Town?"

"I don't remember. He just said he was going out." Thorin already had a pounding headache from a combination of too many diplomatic meetings in the morning and too much paperwork in the afternoon. He didn't have the energy to worry much over his nephew's whereabouts. "He probably just wanted some air. He's been rather edgy lately."

"I wonder why." Dís muttered darkly. Kilian tugged at her sleeve and whispered something in her ear. "Oh, of course. Kilian's hungry; I'll make sure he gets supper," she informed Thorin. "And if you see Fíli before I do tell him that I need to speak with him!"

"Thank you and yes I will." Thorin was in truth rather relieved when she left. As much as he adored Kilian, he was just too tired to give the boy enough attention right then.

Dís had been home for just over a week and Kilian was thriving under her near-constant attention, while Thorin was thankfully allowed some time to attend to his kingdom. He wanted to help with Kilian, but he there was a big difference between doing that and having the child follow him everywhere. At least the boy trusted Dís; Thorin had been secretly afraid that he'd reject her like he'd done with almost everyone else.

He'd only done that out of fear, though. That was the difference between Kilian and Kara.

Kara was still holding everyone at arm's length, if not farther. Thorin was still wondering exactly what he or Fíli or Dís had said exactly to make her treat them like poison.

Maybe it was what they hadn't said.

Clearly, she hadn't had it particularly easy for most of her life. Kíli and Tauriel would have been outcasts no matter where they went; that would reflect on their children as well. Still, she must have been devoted to her parents…Fíli had mentioned that the only time she almost cried was while she was talking about them…

Confound it all, where _were_ those two, anyway?

Knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't get any more work done that afternoon, Thorin pushed away the papers and got up. He'd go down the healing chambers a little earlier than usual.

* * *

He'd asked himself a few times, _Why do you do this? _He'd asked it of Fíli the day before when he discovered that the golden prince had been going to visit Kara every day too. Fíli had had an answer:

_You don't give up on your kin._

Thorin had seen the pain in Fíli's eyes when he said that, pain that stemmed from years of doing just that: not giving up. And he'd felt no small amount of guilt. When Kíli was so ill in Lake Town, Fíli had refused to leave his side, showing far more familial loyalty that Thorin had at the time. When he'd been in the throes of the gold sickness, Fíli and Kíli had not abandoned him. They'd stayed by his side, though obviously terrified and confused by his behavior. Later, after the battle in which he'd almost lost both of them, Thorin had looked back on his actions over the dragon hoard and felt more guilt and shame than he'd ever been able to completely express. Or get rid of.

_You don't give up on your kin._

He'd done just that, by forcing Kíli and Tauriel away. By never trying to find them. Dís hadn't either. Fíli had tried, but failed.

Now, Thorin supposed, they were all trying to make up for it.

It wouldn't surprise him in the least if Dís was visiting Kara too, and not just to let the girl spend time with her brother.

* * *

"Visiting Kara" typically meant either sitting for an hour or so in stony silence or spending a considerably shorter time arguing about nothing with her.

Over the last few days, the former had become the norm. She would remain completely silent when she had a visitor, usually reading one of the books that she'd allowed Fíli and Thorin to bring her. Judging by the way she went through them, she was an avid reader.

Not that Thorin minded the quiet; at least she wasn't swearing...when she did he was sorely tempted to curse back, but knew he'd get a smack to the head if Dís found out. And there always seemed to be an apprentice or two around listening.

Today, Thorin found Kara reading and breathed a sigh of relief. He entered silently, picked up one of the discarded books from the pile next to her...she eyed him for a moment but didn't comment...and sat down in the chair against the opposite wall.

He'd been reading for a while...some history or other...when he realized that she was still staring at him. He didn't actually _see_ her doing it, but he could feel her gaze. He kept his eyes lowered to the book, hoping she'd stop or at the very least say something.

Finally she did. "Why do you keep doing this?"

Thorin felt a rather unfortunate desire to laugh. Hadn't he just gone over why in his own head yet again? Looking up, he met Kara's gaze, but feigned innocence. "Doing what?" he asked.

She let out a low growl that, truth be told, startled him. At least, coming out of someone who looked like an elf. "You know exactly what I mean, _Your Majesty_."

So much for peace and quiet. She'd be spouting Khuzdul curses next. "Why do you think I do this?"

Kara actually looked like she might answer rather civilly when their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Fíli.

The dwarf prince came charging in, looking filthy, exhausted, but triumphant. Not noticing Thorin right away, he inquired cheerfully, "Does this look familiar, Kara?" He held aloft a dark leather satchel. It was battered, and stained with mud and plants, but Kara looked happier than Thorin had ever seen her at the sight of it.

"Where did you find that?" she cried, the book she held tumbling to the floor.

"By accident. I wouldn't have found it at all if I'd gone out a week later; it's probably going to snow soon and then it would have been covered until spring…" Fíli stepped forward and deposited the satchel on Kara's lap. "Oh, hello, Uncle."

Kara was already digging through the satchel, tossing out pieces of soaked, stained travel clothing in an effort to get quickly to the bottom. "The orcs got the pony and the saddlebags, but I had this on my shoulder...I kept the stuff I really didn't want to lose in here….Oh! I forgot about this!" She extracted a short, wide bladed dagger and pulled it partway out of its worn scabbard. Two narrow lines of dwarvish runes were traced along the shiny surface of the blade.

Fíli held out his hand. "May I?" Kara shrugged and handed him the dagger before she began to dig around in the satchel again. Thorin looked over his nephew's shoulder as they both examined the weapon.

After a few moments, Fíli looked up at his uncle. "Kíli must have taken this out of the Erebor armory." He turned to Kara. "He gave this to you?"

Kara, who looking over a small object wrapped in rags, glanced their way. "Yes. He used it as a hunting knife." She frowned at the little bundle in her hands and then shoved it under her pillow. "Though he mentioned that it was made for battle, not hunting." She reached deep into the satchel and removed another object wrapped in a cloth. "I don't suppose you found my bow and arrows, did you?"

"No…I'm sorry; I did look," Fíli replied.

"Another archer in the family," muttered Thorin, but not quietly enough. Fíli shot him a warning look as Kara snorted in amusement. Both male dwarves turned back to her, surprised. "What?" demanded Thorin.

Instead of answering, Kara looked past them to the doorway. The other two turned quickly to see Dís standing there. "Aren't you going to ask how long I've been here?" she asked teasingly. Without waiting for an answer, she added, "Kilian's in bed, or I'd have brought him too." She stepped into the room, giving Thorin a light smack on the shoulder when she came near enough. "So…how long have you two been visiting Kara?"

Fíli and Thorin didn't know how to answer that, and were saved from doing so by Kara herself, who had finished unwrapping the last object from her satchel.

The three older dwarves recognized it instantly.

It was the silver hair clasp Kíli had used to wear.

Thorin heard his sister draw in her breath sharply, but when he looked at her, her face betrayed nothing. Fíli looked almost ready to bolt out the door, however, so Thorin gave him a stern look. They'd been fueling enough gossip lately.

There was a few minutes of silence. Kara kept turning the clasp over and over in her hands, seemingly forgetting the others in the room with her. When she did seem to remember them, she glared in their direction and snapped, "What?" But the cruel edge had gone out of her voice.

Dís made the next move. She stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, adjusting her position to that she was directly behind Kara. Then she began to run her fingers through the ends of Kara's long red hair, working out the bigger tangles.

"What are you doing?" demanded Kara, but Dís simply instructed her to sit still.

A few minutes later, Dís reached around Kara and picked up the hair clasp. She used it to fasten together the ends of the two half-length braids she'd just completed at the back of Kara's head. "There." Dís stood up and began to pick up few items of clothing that Kara had tossed around so haphazardly earlier.

Kara reached back and ran her fingers over the braids and clasp. She hesitated for a moment before muttering, "Thank you." For a moment she looked...vulnerable. Then the icy mask went back on.

But she'd let her guard down for a little while. That, Thorin reflected, was a start.

* * *

The orc captain Ragg sank his teeth into a bloody, raw leg of a goat. He chewed forcefully, ignoring the complaints from his pack. They didn't like goat very well.

"Agh, this is disgusting!"

"Worthless! Lurg, couldn't you find something else?"

"Shut your useless maw! You try catching something decent to eat in this moldering hills!"

"It could be worse! It could be sheep!"

"Ugh! Furry, skinny things!"

"Couldn't be worse than this!"

"I hate goat meat!"

"Why can't we eat the prisoner?"

That settled it. Ragg stood up, a short way from the other orcs, and roared, "Enough! She is not to be injured any more than we have injured her already! Do you wish to keep your heads?" The other orcs fell silent, returning to their meal with only a few rebellious grunts.

Lurg, the pack hunter, muttered a minute later, "Bet she wouldn't taste any better. She's an…"

Suddenly, he paused. "Wait, Wrog, aren't you supposed to be watching her?"

All eyes turned to the smallest, scrawniest orc in the pack, who promptly let out a shrill squeak of terror, a bit of goat intestine hanging out of his mouth. There was a moment of dead silence.

Ragg led the charge to the tree where they had left their bound prisoner. Nothing was left but a pile of cut cords.

Ragg snarled in rage. "She must have sneaked a knife from one of you!"

Lurg looked around wildly. "Who's missing a knife?"

The orcs all checked themselves. Wrog let out another squeak as Captain Ragg turned on him.

Almost three miles away, an exceedingly bruised and battered elf paused, doubling over as she gasped for breath. Her heart pounded as much in fear as anything else. Should the orcs surround her again, she had only one small knife against all eight.

"Then they will not catch you," she hissed between clenched teeth. She _would_ survive this. She straightened up and began to run again.


	12. Never Easy

"Where are we going to put her?"

Thorin looked up at his sister. "Put who?"

Dís rolled her eyes. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Thorin. Kara's almost recovered, she can leave the healing chambers within the next couple days; Óin told me this morning. Wait, you _didn't_ hear that?"

Thorin sighed heavily and glanced around the council chamber, empty now except for himself and his sister. "No, no one told me that. Or maybe…" He trailed off, wondering if someone had sent a note that he'd neglected to read.

"Thorin! Do you pay attention to anything that goes on in your kingdom?"

Refraining from mentioning that paying attention to the goings-on in his kingdom was a necessary part of running it, Thorin replied, "So she can leave the healing chambers. Fine with me. I fail to see the problem."

Dís glared at him. "Use your head for once. Kilian has been staying either in my chambers or yours. We need another set of chambers for Kara; the point is, _where_, exactly?"

Thorin said with a shrug, "The rooms just past yours are empty. Put her there."

Dís eyed him. "It's close enough so Kilian will be able to go to her if he wants…but should…what status do they have, Thorin? What status _should_ they have?"

Honestly, Thorin had tried not to think about it. It took him a while to decide how to answer. "It's not something we need to deal with right now, Sister. They're Kíli's children, our kin. That is enough for now."

Dís nodded and turned to leave. But she hesitated at the door. "Thorin, it's enough for now. They're_ children_. But it won't always be this easy." She left him to his thoughts.

_No, it was never going to be easy._

* * *

Fíli walked toward the door to Kara's room in the healing chambers just in time to hear the girl curse. He hurried inside; she was sitting on the floor a few feet from her bed, looking disgusted.

Fíli raised his eyebrows at her ferocious glare. "You tried to walk. And fell down."

"I got a _little unsteady,_" she hissed.

"Sure you did." He shook his head before stepping forward and holding out his hand. It took Kara another minute of glaring before she accepted his help. He pulled her to her feet. She had to lean on him for a minute before she could stand alone.

"I still get a little dizzy," she admitted after a moment. "Only when I stand up too long. That healer says I should be fine in a couple days."

"Hmm. Did he give you permission to try walking on your own?"

Her soft grunt gave him all the answer he needed. Suppressing a chuckle, he guided her back to the bed. "Next time, ask one of the healers. Or wait for me."

She snorted. "I'll be fine in a day or so. Then I won't need any help."

Fíli couldn't help but laugh a little. She snapped in response, "_What?_"

Fíli simply shrugged, but inwardly he was thinking, _She behaves just like Uncle Thorin. _Out loud he said, "You're right. Actually, I came down to tell you that we're getting a set of rooms ready for you in the Royal Quarters. Kilian will probably end up there with you when he's not with Mother or Thorin, but mostly you'll have it all to yourself." He stopped, looking at her worriedly. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be delighted to get out of the healing chambers!"

Kara bit her lip briefly, not really meeting his gaze. "You're sure you want to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Put me in the Royal Quarters."

Fíli saw what she was getting at. "As you pointed out a while ago, you _are _royalty."

"People are talking all over Erebor, aren't they? About me and Kilian?"

Honesty, Fíli decided, would be the best course here. Kara was nothing if not exceedingly blunt. "Yes, people are talking. But that doesn't matter; you are related to the king. They can't do anything _but_ talk."

Kara sighed. "I've been talked about my whole life." She stopped, clearly debating on whether she should continue.

Fíli sensed that his silence would work better than any coaxing. He was right. Kara eventually muttered, "I was the one who went to town the most. I helped Amad sometimes…since she was a healer of sorts…and I sold most of the hides and things that Adad got from hunting…he didn't like to…I don't know why. He taught me to early on…" She halted her speech again, swallowing. "I miss them," she said. Fíli saw a single tear drop down her cheek, followed quickly by another.

Fíli involuntarily moved forward and pulled Kara into an awkward hug. It took a minute or two, but she relaxed into his embrace. He could feel the shoulder of his tunic becoming damp as Kara wept into it. He wondered how long it had been since she broke down like this.

She must have been terribly lonely.

When she finally pulled away, he didn't try to stop her. To change the subject, he asked, "Are you going to tell me what you hid under your pillow the day I found your satchel?" He averted his eyes to give her time to wipe the remaining tears off her face. After she'd finished, she responded readily enough,

"Yes, I keep forgetting." She reached underneath her pillow and produced the bundle she'd hidden there. As she unwrapped it, she said, "I keep planning to give it to Kilian; it was mine but he's the right age for it now…" She produced a battered, wooden toy, parts of it wrapped in worn leather strips.

Fíli felt a jolt of recognition. Unbidden, he reached out and took toy, turning it over in his hands and examining every inch of it.

It was a wolf, really a very small, simple thing. But Fíli knew it well. It had been his…and he'd given it to Kíli.

And Kíli had given it to Kara.

"It was Adad's," the girl murmured.

Fíli nodded. The carved animal was bringing up a multitude of old memories, some of joy, others of sorrow. "I gave it to him…it was mine." He managed to smile as he handed it back to his niece. "I didn't know he took it when he left."

"Why did he leave?"

Fíli met her narrowed eyes. "You don't know already?"

"I've heard rumors." Kara smiled wryly. "The apprentice healers chat pretty freely."

"Do you want me to tell you the whole tale?" Fíli frowned. "It's not exactly a nice one."

"You know, I don't want you to tell me." Fíli blinked, confused. Then he understood when she repeated herself with different emphasis, "I don't want_ you_ to tell me." Of course not. Kara wanted the story from the one she believed to be the perpetrator.

She wanted Thorin to tell her.

_At least she's not asking me to._

* * *

The two orc guards were not in the least gentle with their prisoner as they dragged him before their master. They dropped him on the rough stone floor in front of the rock pile that vaguely resembled a seat. He crumpled the second they released him.

"Sit up, scum!" shrieked the smaller guard.

The larger orc kicked him for good measure.

The hulking creature on the makeshift throne just above them raised his hand to stop his guards. "So," he sneered softly, "how have you enjoyed the last few days as my guest?"

The larger orc guard grabbed the prisoner and pulled him upright by his long hair. "Look at your host when he speak to you!"

The prisoner looked for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh. "I thought you were dead!"

"Ha! The pride and foolishness of Durins!" the massive enthroned orc spat. "Your uncle could not kill my father, and you could not kill me! You think I will not finish his noble work of ridding this world of your filthy line?"

The prisoner looked up, his dark eyes meeting those of the orc leader with a defiant glare. "You're many years too late, Bolg," he snarled.

"Is that so?" Bolg, spawn of Azog the Defiler, leaned forward slightly. "You honestly think," he scoffed, "that we don't know where your children are? That we have not already captured them?"

His harsh laughter was almost drowned out by the dwarf prince's despairing scream.


	13. Archery and Meetings

Thorin woke slowly and reluctantly. All he wanted was to stay asleep for an hour longer.

It was really hard to sleep while Kilian was staring at him.

He didn't need to see the boy to know what he was doing. Kilian might fall asleep early every night...not to mention several times during the day...but he woke up very early every morning.

When he was sleeping with Dís, Kilian had apparently discovered that messing with her hair woke her up the fastest. With Thorin, staring worked the best.

And Kilian could stare almost unblinkingly for an absurd length of time.

Soon realizing that he would not be able to fall asleep again, Thorin groaned and opened his eyes. Yes, there was Kilian gazing down on him. "You little demon child," Thorin told him.

Kilian grinned. Thorin, rolling his eyes, pushed himself up to a sitting position and grabbed the little boy before he could escape off the bed. Pinning his great-nephew down with one hand, he began tickle him mercilessly with the other.

He had only recently discovered that Kilian was ticklish, and now took every opportunity to torture the child with this knowledge. Though sometimes he could swear that Kilian tricked him into doing it. Thorin smiled at the thought; he didn't mind being manipulated in this instance.

Within seconds the little boy was squealing with breathless laughter. But Thorin didn't stop until Dís banged on his door and yelled, "Thorin, what _are_ you doing to that child?"

Thorin stopped tickling Kilian but kept him pinned down. "Nothing!" he called back. Looking down at Kilian, he mock whispered, "Tell her I didn't do anything!"

Kilian, though still gasping for breath, giggled. Dís shouted from the other side of the door, "I thought I'd let you know that Bard and some of his advisers are on their way here to discuss something with you!"

"And you know this how?" Thorin grinned to himself as he heard his sister's exasperated sigh. She only had so much patience for him.

"Dwalin told me. So stop playing with Kilian and get ready to greet your guests!"

Thorin sighed and looked down at Kilian, who was currently studying the cracks in the stone ceiling with great interest. "You know, little one, sometimes I wonder if this King business is really worth it."

Kilian looked at him and just giggled again.

* * *

"How do you do that?"

Fíli, who had just thrown a knife into the chest of a straw dummy, let out a yelp and half drew another blade before he realize who had spoken. "Kara!" he shouted. "How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Is that an actual question?" Kara shrugged and pushed a few stray strands of red hair out of her face, then sauntered forward to examine the knife stuck in the dummy.

Fíli followed her and asked, "So you don't know how to throw knives? You carry a dagger."

Kara's right hand moved to the dagger she carried at her hip. "Doesn't mean I know how to throw it. Amad said she'd teach me someday, but she never got around to it…" She trailed off, her gaze distant.

Fíli changed the subject. "There's some bows over there, if you'd like to try a one out." He waved his hand toward a nearby area of the training cavern. "You've probably recovered enough by now."

Kara's eyes lit up at the word "bow". "Really?"

"Of course." Fíli couldn't help but smile at her sudden interest.

A few minutes later they'd found a bow that suited Kara and set up a target. Fíli stood behind Kara as she tested the bowstring and chose an arrow. "It's been a while," she muttered as she fit the arrow to the string and pulled it back.

Fíli glanced around. Only a few other dwarves were around; mostly at the other end of the cavern. A few older guards were trying to instruct some novices in the art of swinging an axe. They shot some curious looks in the direction of the dwarf prince and his niece. Fíli turned back to Kara. "It's all right," he told her. "No one's watching," he said, adding under his breath, "not really."

Kara drew in a deep breath as she took aim. She released the arrow.

It embedded itself near the middle of the right side of the target. Truthfully, Fíli had thought that she would miss altogether; she had been so long without practice.

Kara lowered the bow for a moment. "Hmm," was all she said. Then she tried again.

This time the arrow landed significantly closer to the center. Kara looked pleased. She looked over at Fíli.

"Can I shoot as long as I want? It'll take me a while to get really used to this bow."

Fíli chuckled. "Kara, you can use that bow as long as you want."

She smiled at him before she turning and loading another arrow.

* * *

King Bard of Dale sighed and ran his hand distractedly through his nearly white hair. "I'm afraid that my scouts are very accurate, Thorin. There are small bands of orcs roaming through these lands, occasionally stealing, never outright attacking, only scouting."

Thorin growled in disgust, but not at Bard. "Orc filth," he spat. "They _did_ attack someone."

Bard and his two accompanying advisers looked startled. "Wait…wha…_Who?_" stammered one of the advisers.

Thorin ignored the stares from his own councilors and turned to Dwalin, who was seated nearest to him at the wide stone table. "Could you find Kara for me?" he said to his friend.

Dwalin nodded and left. Thorin turned back to Bard. "There was an attack. But the victims were just children…" He paused, unsure what else to say just then. Eventually he added, "They're fine now. But these orcs must be dealt with. Do you have any idea where they're coming from?"

One of the advisers explained, "North. All our scouts' reports indicate that they are coming from the north. Other than that, we have nothing."

Balin, who had been silent so far, pointed out, "Your scouts have not followed the orcs."

"But they'd probably run into more orcs if they did, and we are not needlessly risking our soldiers' lives!"

As Balin began to apologize, Thorin noticed the door to the Council Chamber open a bit, then shut again, _seemingly_ without letting anyone in. He suppressed a smile.

Bard was speaking again. "We probably should have a small party of soldiers follow one of the orc bands, or perhaps try to capture some of them?"

"Orcs are hard to question," pointed out a dwarf lord.

"Yes, but…" Bard's adviser yelped suddenly, "Something just brushed up against my leg!" He tried to peer under the table...no easy feat; it was dwarf-sized. "Do you have a dog in here, King Thorin?"

Balin exchanged a glace with the dwarf king and said, "We don't have dogs in Erebor. Not that I know of."

"Then what was it?"

Thorin felt someone grab his leg and looked down into Kilian's solemn face. "It's alright," he said, "You can come up."

Kilian smiled widely and quickly clambered into Thorin's lap, his head just rising above the surface of the table. Thorin gave him a quick hug before looking up at his councilors and guests. The dwarves had already witnessed this behavior before and watched with a few head shakes and knowing looks. Bard and his companions looked confused. "Thorin," Bard asked carefully, "who is that?"

"This is…" Thorin met Balin's concerned gaze and stopped.

So far, Thorin had not exactly announced who Kara and Kilian really were to anyone but his closest friends. He knew that most of those who lived in Erebor had suspicions, most of which were probably correct. Thorin knew that he'd have to explain one day, and he figured that he might as well start now. "This is Kilian. He is my great-nephew." He glanced down at the child, who was smiling at him with sweet innocence.

"Your…" Bard eyed Kilian for a moment before venturing, "I didn't know that Prince Fíli was married or had children."

"He doesn't. Kilian and his sister are Kíli's offspring." Thorin ruffled Kilian's hair, noting that his braids were becoming messy.

"Oh, well…" Bard looked more confused than ever. "I was under the impression…that is…Is Prince Kíli back in Erebor?"

"No." Thorin felt that it would be best to spell it all out. "I…I exiled him almost thirty years ago, as you already know. A couple months ago I found Kilian and Kara in the woods. They'd been attacked by orcs but had escaped. Kara told me who their parents were; to be honest, I should have known already."

"No offense intended; but you trust the word of two children who claim to be your kin?" Bard seemed genuinely curious.

Thorin snorted. "They didn't know; all they knew was their parents' names. I assure you, we are certain. Kilian may be quite a baby still but his sister is anything but. She's got sense."

"Gratifying, that comment." They all turned to behold Fíli and Kara standing in the doorway. Kara smiled, that sly, almost gleeful smile of hers, and added, "You required my presence?"

"Yes." Thorin noticed that her cheeks were flushed and she looked much happier than usual. "What were you doing just now?"

"Target practice," Fíli answered for her.

"She's actually quite good." Dwalin, who had been lurking behind them, came forward to reclaim his seat. "Better than you, probably." He said it just loud enough for Thorin to hear.

The king let that pass and said, "Bard, this is Kara. Kara, this is King Bard of Dale." Naturally, she showed no sign of deference except a respectful nod. _Still so proud_. Thorin went on, "Kara, we need you to tell us about the orcs."

He saw her stiffen just as he felt Kilian tense in his lap. Foreseeing difficulty, he told the boy, "Why don't you go find your grandmother, all right? I'll see you later."

The little boy considered this for a moment, then nodded and jumped off Thorin's lap. Running across the room, Kilian gave his sister a quick hug before darting out of the Council Chamber. Returning his attention to Kara, he urged, "We really need to know whatever you can remember about them. There have been other sightings of similar bands."

Kara's face went white. Fíli noticed and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay." Thorin could just hear the reassurance.

Kara hesitated for a few moments longer before beginning to speak, her words tumbling out in a rush. "I was looking around to see if the stream I had heard was hazardous in any way, I let Kilian stay with the pony, then I heard him screaming…I ran back to him, there must have been six or seven orcs around him…I started firing arrows, one of them got behind me and cut my arm…I dropped my bow, but managed to kill that one with a broken arrow…Then I grabbed Kilian and ran. I don't remember anything else except that they all were rather big and smelled awful and can I please leave now?" She was shaking by that point.

One of the dwarf councilors began to object, but Thorin stopped him with a dismissive gesture. "Yes, Kara, thank you; you may go. Fíli, stay with her." As his nephew and great-niece left the room, he turned back to the others. "I'll talk to her later, to see if I can learn anything else useful."

"So they were to victims of an orc attack that you mentioned?" questioned Bard.

"Yes." Thorin locked eyes with the King of Dale. Bard, at least, understood Thorin's unspoken plea not to press the issue of the two children any further.

* * *

Fíli barely managed to get Kara back to her chambers before she started crying. The minute he shut the door behind them, she dropped down on the floor and began to sob.

Fíli sat next to her and pulled her into a tight embrace, which she didn't fight. He stroked her hair and waited for the storm of tears to subside. It took a while. A long while.

Finally, Kara cried herself out and leaned limply against Fíli's shoulder. He relaxed his grip but kept one arm around her. "It'll be all right," he said.

It took her a while to manage a response. "It's just…I shouldn't have left him alone. He could've died and it would…would have been my fault…"

"But he didn't. You saved him with quick thinking…and a few arrows." Kara let out sound somewhere between a chuckle and a sniffle. Fíli continued, "It's okay to be scared, Kara. You were scared and it seems to me that you still are. I understand." Another sniff from Kara. "But you're safe now. You and your brother both."

"What about Amad and Adad?"

Fíli sighed and shut his eyes for a moment. "I don't know, Kara." He paused. "Have you asked Thorin about why they left the Lonely Mountain in the first place?"

"Not yet."

"You were planning to?"

Kara and Fíli turned around to find Thorin standing at the door, regarding them soberly. "Kara," he said quietly, "you do realize that you'll probably hate me for what I tell you? If I tell you the truth?"

Kara nodded. "I don't care. I want to know. Everything." She managed to send a glare at Thorin, who sighed and took a seat in a nearby chair. Looking at Fíli, he asked, "Where do I start, do you suppose?"

Fíli considered this. "The quest for Erebor?" he suggested. "That _is_ kind of where the whole business began."

"Aye." Thorin looked at Kara, who still sat on the floor next to her uncle. Her dark eyes showed more than a hint of stubborn defiance, but also genuine curiosity. "Aye, the quest for Erebor."


	14. The Truth

As it turned out, Kara already knew quite a lot about Smaug...what he was, where he had come from, and how he had taken over Erebor. She also knew when and how he had died.

But she didn't seem to know why he left Erebor to destroy Lake Town in the first place.

So Thorin found himself recounting the entire tale of the quest, beginning with the decision to reclaim Erebor from Smaug. Fíli threw in an occasional comment.

They tried to be thorough, and Kara seemed fascinated. She seemed to enjoy the story almost enough to forget why she was hearing it in the first place.

Thorin talked steadily, outlining the adventures of the company along the road to Erebor. It wasn't until he got to Mirkwood that he hesitated. Kara started glaring at him when the pause grew too long, so he hastened to continue.

"We were so bewildered by the forest that we soon lost the path. While we were wandering around, we were set upon by giant spiders."

Fíli broke in. "They surrounded us, mostly coming up behind, and knocked us out with their venom. When we woke up again, we were all tied up and hanging in the trees."

"Thankfully our burglar Master Baggins managed to sneak in then and cut us all loose. But we were still outnumbered." Thorin paused. "Somehow in the chaos, your father managed to get himself separated from the rest of us. So when we were rescued by a group of Mirkwood elves, he wasn't with us. At first."

When Thorin didn't continue right away, Fíli explained, "That's how your parents met. Your mother rescued him. She was the Captain of the Guard in Mirkwood."

Kara looked startled. "Really? And what happened after that?"

Thorin and Fíli exchanged glances. "We…er…we were not on the best terms with the Mirkwood elves." Thorin admitted. "They had refused to aid us when we were driven from Erebor all those years before…We…myself, in particular…never forgave them. They didn't like us much, either. So they took us prisoner.

"I ended up having a nasty audience with King Thranduil, after which he determined to keep us locked up forever…Once again, Master Baggins proved his worth and got us out…But, as the saying goes, 'the damage had been done'." Thorin looked to Fíli for help with this bit.

"I was in a cell near Kíli's. Tauriel locked him up, but he they spoke a little before she left, mostly useless banter, from what I heard. Anyway, she came back later and they started talking about firemoons and starlight and whatnot…I couldn't hear everything but I remember promising myself that I'd talk sense into Kíli when we got out…which we soon did."

Thorin, in the interest of time, tried to skim over the next part, but failed as at the vague mention of _barrels _and _river _Kara demanded a more detailed explanation of the escape. So Thorin told the tale of the escape, including Kíli's attempt at opening the river gate and his subsequent injury. Kara winced when Fíli explained exactly how it had happened.

Thorin went on to tell of their first meeting with the future King Bard and their eventual reception in Lake Town...carefully _not_ omitting Kíli's stumble that resulted in their being discovered by guards. He had a feeling that Kara would notice something if he tried to cover it up.

She did look disgusted when he told her that he'd left Kíli behind in Lake Town, but she said nothing.

Thorin explained the arrival at Erebor and the confrontation with Smaug, then turned to Fíli, who said, "Meanwhile, back at Lake Town, Kíli was getting sicker by the minute and we'd taken refuge once more with Bard. Óin could do nothing, I was getting frantic, Bard had left because he felt sure that the dragon was coming…then the orcs showed up. And so did that elf prince Legolas and Tauriel. Legolas fought off the orcs while Tauriel used some Elven healing skills to cure Kíli."

Fíli then spoke of Smaug's attack and Bard's bravery in bringing him down...but didn't linger on it, since Kara seemed to know most of it already. And the aftermath. "By the time Kíli, Óin, Bofur and I were ready to leave the refugee encampment and head to Erebor, I could see how much Kíli was in love with your mother. He didn't want to leave her, but we all felt that we had no choice. His regret was obvious."

Thorin took over then to tell the story up to the siege of Erebor. Kara raised her eyebrows more than once as he detailed his behavior while in the throes of the gold sickness. He had a sinking feeling that she was quickly losing what little respect she had for him.

The battle was harder to explain. Everything had been so haphazard, so confusing, but Thorin and Fíli tried to give an accurate account of what had happened; soon they had come to the stand on Ravenhill.

"Kíli and I separated to scout out the old watchtower. Azog's bodyguards captured me." Fíli shuddered, remembering the awful experience. "Azog wanted to kill me in front of Thorin, but I used one of my extra daggers to injure the orc holding me and I tried to get away. Another orc hit me with a spear…they thought I was dead, or close to it. So they just tossed me out a window into a snow bank near Uncle…I was unconscious after that; when I next woke up I was in a healing tent…" He looked expectantly at Thorin, who continued,

"Azog came after me. From what Kíli told us later, he saw Fíli, thought he was dead, and immediately ran up to the upper levels of the tower to get revenge. Azog, as I mentioned, was already fighting me, but his filthy spawn Bolg met Kíli in battle. They fought, and Kíli lost. He would have been dead then and there but Tauriel jumped in and saved him again. I managed to defeat Azog, but received many injuries in the process."

"Suffice to say, all three of us were in bad shape for quite a while," Fíli said. "But your father had a constant nurse."

"My mother." 

Thorin said, "When the last elves departed the Mountain for Mirkwood, Tauriel did not go with them. Apparently, in saving my nephew's life multiple times, she managed to disobey Thranduil and was exiled. He never really made it formal, but it was understood that she would not be welcome back into her forest, at least not for a very long time. In gratitude for her help in retaking Erebor and keeping Kíli alive and more or less in one piece, I granted her asylum in my kingdom."

"What he means is: I convinced him to let her stay, no matter what was going on between her and Kíli," Fíli contradicted. "To be honest, we were rather hoping that their mutual infatuation would run its course."

"In that case, Tauriel could go wherever she wanted and Kíli would hopefully get over it." Thorin couldn't bring himself to look at Kara. "I still didn't like her," he stated. "I certainly found her more…agreeable than most elves, but I didn't approve of her. But…" He trailed off.

Fíli continued for him, "We underestimated their love. That, and the simple fact that she was an elf, made us…_less than accepting_ when Kíli told us that he planned to marry her."

"_Mahal_, we were dead set against it." growled Thorin. "Don't deny it Fíli; you backed me, not your brother."

Fíli's temper flared. "Well, yes I did, but you're the one who told them bluntly that they couldn't get married in Erebor."

"Let me get this straight." Kara's clipped words stopped Thorin from responding to Fíli. "Adad and Amad left Erebor because you didn't approve of them being together."

"That's about right." Fíli admitted. "Though it was more like we were furious and offended at the thought of a dwarf prince binding himself to an elf."

Thorin wished very much that he was anywhere else as Kara fixed her dark eyes on him. "We all but drove them out," he said quietly. "We didn't hear from them, even indirectly, until we found you and Kilian." He felt another surge of guilt at the memory of that morning when he'd rejected the wishes of his own kin.

"I see." Kara stood up and turned her back on them. "Could you please leave?"

Fíli and Thorin muttered their assent and left the room hastily. Once a safe distance away, they stopped and looked at each other.

"Now we've done it." Fíli said. "We've just destroyed everything."

Thorin didn't speak for a moment. "Did we have a choice?"

Neither one answered the question, but they both knew the answer.

They hadn't had a choice.

But now Kara did.

* * *

Bolg stood by the gap in the cave wall, staring out at the shadowed hills. "My lord?" he heard one of his guards croak behind him.

He turned to face the other orc, who wore a crude helmet comprised of animal bones. "What is it?" he snapped.

"My lord, an orc from Ragg's band has arrived. He says that he has a message from his captain."

Bolg grunted. "Bring him in here." The guard left.

A minute later, the bone-helmeted orc returned with another, this one slightly larger. But he looked terrified. "My lord," he groveled, "I am Lurg, from Ragg's band."

Bolg snorted. "So I heard. What do you want?"

"He sent me with a message…"

Bolg lost his temper quickly, as he always did. "Then tell me before I have your useless head!"

Lurg gulped. "It's that…Ragg told me to…the elf wench has escaped!" he managed to squeal out at last.

Bolg screamed in fury and lashed out with the iron blade which he always carried. Lurg screamed and stumbled backwards, black blood pouring from a gash in his right shoulder. But he managed to shriek, "The rest of the band are on her trail!"

Bolg growled menacingly. "Return to Ragg, and tell him that if he wants to keep his head, he'd better find the elf. Fast." Lurg gulped again and stumbled out of the cave, holding his injured shoulder. Bold turned to his guard, who was cowering. "Bring me the prisoner," Bolg snarled. "It's time I had another chat with him."


	15. Runaway Huntress

Fíli could hardly believe that it was only early afternoon. He felt like the day had already lasted for a month.

It could have been all the storytelling. And confessions.

_I didn't make it any easier for my brother._

Fíli shook his head to dispel the thought. Since he and Thorin had parted ways outside Kara's chambers, he'd been wandering around the halls of Erebor, as he had an unfortunate tendency to do. Eventually finding himself out on one of the battlements, he leaned against the balustrade and stared out over the quiet plains far below.

It had snowed a few times over the past week or so, but only a couple inches of the powdery white flakes remained on the ground now. The sky was clear, light blue, with a few narrow bands of cloud drifting over the horizon. It was truly beautiful; Fíli could see that. But the peaceful landscape did nothing to stop the turmoil of dark thoughts in his mind.

_Kíli, where under the stars are you?_

Fíli hadn't mentioned it to anybody, but he'd been having trouble sleeping. At first, it was just gnawing worry and constant questions, such as _Who are those children _and _Has Uncle finally lost his mind _and, most recently, _What are we going to do with Kara? _He'd also been tormented by the occasional nightmare, usually memories concerning the destruction of Lake Town by Smaug's flames and the Battle of the Five Armies. Now those had subsided, only to be replaced by less violent yet just as unsettling dreams filled with vague images of rough stone walls, bloodstained chains, and orcs with bone helmets. Fíli despised these dreams; they forced him to think of all the terrible things that could have happened to Kíli when he and Tauriel went off on whatever errand that forced them to leave their children.

_Kíli, what has happened to you?_

For all they knew, both the dwarf prince and the elf could be dead.

Fíli clutched the edge of the stone balustrade so tightly that it hurt. Kíli could not be dead. Fíli would know. He _would_ know. Wouldn't he?

Then he thought of Dís, of Thorin, of Kilian and Kara. Had they thought these things too? Were they also stubbornly refusing to accept the possibility that Kíli was gone forever?

Nadadith_, where are you?_

* * *

Thorin was headed down to the forges for a routine inspection when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind him. Turning, he found Dwalin rushing up to him. "Thorin!" the tall dwarf gasped, "We may have a wee problem!"

Thorin felt a rush of fear. Various scenarios ran through his head at the mention of _a wee problem_. That usually meant a very big problem. "What? Has a mine shaft collapsed?" It was the first thought that came to mind; it_ had_ happened before.

Before he could guess again, Dwalin had caught his breath and said, "I went down to check on the gate guards as I usually do this time of day. I asked them if they'd seen anything…They said someone left Erebor without saying where she was going…Thorin, it was that red-haired lass, your great-niece…"

The fear and apprehension Thorin was already feeling intensified. _"Mahal!"_ he bellowed. "You mean to tell me that she's _run off? Alone?_"

Dwalin kept his voice even. "The guards said that she was dressed warm and carried a satchel. And…weapons."

Thorin felt dizzy. This could not be happening. Not now. He'd never forgive himself if…"What weapons, exactly? Did the guards see?"

"Aye. She had a bow and arrows, and carried a dagger as well." Dwalin paused, gazing at his friend in concern. "Thorin…"

Thorin cut him off. "We need to find her. Now. The blasted forge inspection can wait." Thorin hurried down the hall only to crash into Fíli.

"Uncle! I heard you shouting…What has happened?" 

"She's run off, Fíli. She's left Erebor." Thorin fought to keep his panic under control, but it came out in his voice. "Kara's gone."

* * *

They couldn't find her.

Thorin, Fíli, and Dwalin followed her tracks for a short way, but soon they disappeared. Apparently she'd taken a route that didn't involve tramping through the layer of snow.

"There's nothing to see, Thorin," Dwalin said after they'd wasted almost an hour searching for clues to Kara's whereabouts. "She's clever; too clever. And light on her feet as well."

Thorin roared in frustration, "She just can't have run away!"

Fíli was beyond venting his exasperation with shouting. "We knew this might happen, Uncle," he said. "We knew she might decide to do something like this."

Thorin, however, was not done. "Yes, but not going off _by herself_ in the _dead of winter_…" He ended the sentence with another wordless yell, which echoed off the nearby slopes of Erebor.

Fíli sighed, exchanging a look with Dwalin. Thorin would tear himself to pieces over this, given half the chance.

"It's getting dark." Dwalin said suddenly. The bald dwarf placed a hand on Thorin's shoulder. "We need to go back, Thorin."

Fíli could see the anguish in Thorin's eyes as he spoke to the dwarf warrior. "She's all alone, Dwalin. She'll die out here." His voice was little more than a whisper now.

Fíli felt the knot of fear in his stomach tighten. "Thorin, Kara is strong. She's armed and probably knows how to survive in the wild." He said it to comfort himself as much as his uncle. "She'll be all right for now. We can search for her tomorrow."

Thorin clearly didn't believe him, but agreed.

* * *

Dís was waiting for them when they returned to the mountain. "I held off having supper until you returned." she said, before asking, "No sign of her?"

"Nothing to go on." Fíli told her quietly.

They ate supper together, as they often did, struggling to keep an atmosphere of normalcy for Kilian's sake, if nothing else. They didn't want to tell the boy that his sister was gone until they were sure that she really was.

Kilian didn't seem to notice anything at first, only asking once, "Where's _namad_?"

Fíli answered him. "She's busy, Kilian. She'll be back soon."

Kilian accepted that and spent the rest of the meal going between Dís and Thorin, spending a few minutes being fed on one lap before going to the next. At least he was eating; the three adults soon found that they could not. It didn't stop them from trying.

They had been at the table for quite a while, and even Kilian was getting full, when they heard the door open. Before Thorin, Dís, or Fíli could even look up, Kilian let out a happy squeal and ran to the new arrival.

The dwarves looked up to behold Kara standing in the doorway, her clothes wet, her hair wild, and her cheeks red from cold. She laughed and picked up her brother, swinging him briefly into the air before giving him a tight hug. "I love you too, _nadadith_! Sorry I'm late for supper." she added as she set Kilian back down on the floor. "What?" 

Fíli, frozen in his chair, wasn't sure whether he wanted to slap her or hug her. As it turned out, he was spared the decision.

Thorin got to Kara first.

In a single swift motion, he shoved his chair back from the table and stood. And in a few swift strides, he reached the girl and pulled her into a firm, if rather rough, embrace.

Kara let out a yelp of surprise, but didn't push Thorin away. The dwarf king kept his tight hold on her for a few moments longer before releasing her and giving her such a glare that most people would have shrunk away in fear. Kara simply looked baffled. "What?" she asked again, less defensively this time.

"If you ever run off like that again…" Thorin growled.

Her eyes showed sudden comprehension. "I went hunting! Didn't get anything, but it _was_ fun." She paused, looking confused again; then astonished. "You were worried," she stated. 

"What do you think?" Dís demanded, standing and moving around the table to pull the girl into an embrace of her own.

When she moved away, Kara glanced around at them all, finally meeting Fíli's gaze. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

They knew that she meant it.


	16. An Excursion and a Visitor

Two and a half weeks had passed since Kara's "hunting trip".

While it snowed a few times, the white blanket over the countryside never got thicker than a couple feet. But the temperature dropped far below freezing every night, and even in the depths of Erebor as many fireplaces as possible were lit. Several days had come and gone with no more snow clouds, just thin white wisps and deep azure skies stretching to the horizon.

It was on one of the nicest of these days that Kara came barging into Fíli's rooms without so much as a by-your-leave. Well, it wasn't as if he hadn't gotten used to it by now. "What is it, Kara?" he demanded, looking up from the letter he was writing. He had been trying to keep up a regular correspondence with some friends of his who lived in the Iron Hills. "Is Thorin spoiling Kilian to death again?" 

"I want to go for a hike, and Thorin told me not to go out without someone else," Kara replied in a resigned tone.

"And why do you think I'm that person to go with?" Fíli asked, pretending to be reluctant.

Kara growled, and Fíli laughed at her. "I'd love to go, Kara. Let me finish this letter. I'll tell Thorin; you gather whatever supplies you think we need for this 'expedition'."

Kara smiled, the bright kind of smile that rarely appeared on her face, and ran off.

Fíli finished the letter and hurried to Thorin's chambers, after changing into a sturdier pair of boots and some heavier outdoor clothing. He found his uncle pretending to do paperwork while in reality watching Kilian trying to steal biscuits off the plate on the table without being noticed. Fíli watched, amused, while Thorin caught Kilian in the act and dangled him upside down under one arm. Kilian shrieked loudly as Thorin caught sight of Fíli.

"Good morning, Fíli!" Thorin called over Kilian's yelps. "What brings you here this early?" Thorin suddenly flipped Kilian onto his lap, right side up this time. The little boy, face flushed but with a huge grin, managed to lean over the table and snag a biscuit. Thorin laughed as the child stuffed the whole thing in his mouth at once.

Chuckling, Fíli said, "Kara wants to go outside." Noting the instant alarm on Thorin's face, he hastened to add, "With me. She wants to go for a walk outside Erebor with me. We may be gone for a while."

Thorin relaxed. "That's all right, then. Just make sure you bring weapons." There had been only one recent sighting of an orc band, far from the Lonely Mountain. That hardly meant anything; orcs could be stealthy if the wished. "And make sure Kara doesn't try to do anything foolish like climb a dead tree or jump off a cliff…"

"And what makes you think that she would ever even dream of doing those things?" 

"She's Kíli's daughter, isn't she? Oh, no you don't!" The last was directed at Kilian, who had tried to climb around onto Thorin's back. Thorin seized him and dangled him upside down again, much to the child's glee. "Go ahead, Fíli. I have a council meeting later, or I'd be tempted to join you."

Smiling to himself, Fíli left to find Kara, reflecting on how well Thorin got along with Kilian. He _did_ spoil the child rotten, but Kilian was so inherently sweet that it didn't seem to make a difference.

_Just like his father…_

Fíli shook himself and concentrated on finding Kara.

* * *

"It's so beautiful!" Kara exclaimed from several feet above Fíli's head.

The blond dwarf grumbled to himself and climbed up the last few feet of rocks to reach the ledge where Kara stood. She had decided that she wanted to go up the slopes of the Lonely Mountain for their outing, and Fíli had been struggling to keep up with her ever since.

But when he reached her side, Fíli decided that it had been worth it.

The ledge they stood on was mostly bare rock, not covered by snow. With the higher slopes of the mountain to their back, the countryside to the west was spread out before them, white and black against the perfect, brilliant blue of the sky. There was Dale, a cluster of white-capped buildings, pale blue Long Lake with Lake Town along its shore, and beyond that, Mirkwood, a rippling carpet of snow-covered trees. And far beyond that, the jagged outline of the Misty Mountains stood out against the blue horizon.

"You're right; it is beautiful," Fíli murmured.

Kara tore her gaze from the view and glanced around the rock they stood upon. "This seems like good a place as any to have lunch."

"I agree," Fíli replied; at the mention of _lunch_ he'd realized how hungry he was.

They spent about an hour up there, munching on rather squished meat pies and watching the ravens soar lazily around the mountainside. Kara didn't speak much, and Fíli didn't either, only asking her once, "Have you given that wolf toy to Kilian yet?"

"No." That was all she said, but Fíli understood what she meant. She wasn't ready to let it go.

Finally, Kara said, "We ought to head back; it gets dark so fast."

"Yes." Fíli stood and stretched, feeling suddenly cold as a gust of wind blew over them. "We should. We wouldn't want Thorin to send out a search party."

Kara groaned. "Oh, no, Mahal forbid it!"

The trip down was quicker than the journey up, but more treacherous. Kara and Fíli both slipped numerous times; Kara's stumbles were usually accompanied by a stream of muttered curses. After one such incident, Fíli turned to face Kara and, placing his hands on his hips, said ferociously...in an excellent imitation of his mother's voice..."Young lady! Watch your tongue!"

Kara burst out laughing. Bending down, she scooped up a handful of snow and hurled it at her uncle. Fíli ducked, but Kara had very good aim. Laughing and shaking snow out of his hair, he made a snowball of his own and threw it at her. She whirled away, but it caught her in the shoulder. She ducked behind a rock, no doubt to plan her next attack. She was still laughing.

As he collected some more snow to toss, Fíli reflected that he'd not yet seen his niece so carefree.

So like a child.

* * *

Thorin was trying not to sleep through an extremely dull council meeting. Honestly, since when had being a king been this boring? Of course, he reflected, there were boring yet vital elements in any task, including ruling a kingdom. Most things of that sort he handled with good grace. But did he really have to listen to a councilor drawl on and on about the minor price fluctuations in the jewelry market? And yes, since they were _minor_ changes, Thorin should not have to worry about them.

Instead of actively listening, he allowed his thoughts to wander to Kara and Kilian. Fíli had been teaching Kara to use weapons other than a bow, something Thorin had been slightly nervous about...though as Dís had told him, "You were younger than her when Adad started teaching you to use an axe!". He and Kara still bickered about nothing at all on a regular basis, but most of the venom had gone out of their jibes. And Kara had been spending some more time with Dís, mostly with Kilian involved. Thorin knew his sister well enough to realize that she was still upset about Kara's initial behavior, though both the dwarrowdam and the girl were trying to reconcile their differences. Thorin believed that they would succeed eventually, and that was a satisfying thought.

Kilian had improved too. He no longer flinched at the sight of anyone remotely strange to him; he'd even grown rather fond of a few people outside his family. Particularly Bofur...who had bonded with him over toys, naturally...and Balin. Dwalin was also tolerated, but Kilian seemed to see him as dangerous...possibly because of his height, yet that didn't make any sense really since Kilian's mother was an elf. Perhaps it was just the warrior persona.

But the child was, as everyone said, far too adorable for his own good. He was rather like his father in that respect.

For the first time in a long time, the thought of Kíli brought joy to Thorin at first, not pain. Of course, it was quickly replaced by worry.

_Where in Durin's name…_

The door slammed open, breaking in on both Thorin's private musings and the councilors' dull debate over the output of the forges. All talk ceased when Dwalin burst in. "Thorin!" he shouted. Behind him, the king could hear the excited babble of what sounded like a dozen guards.

Thorin's immediate reaction was fear. "Dwalin! What has…It's not Fíli and…" Horrifying images of Kara and Fíli's bodies, either ripped to shreds by wolves or frozen solid in the snow, swam before his eyes. If something had happened to them…

"No, Thorin, it's not them, it's…she came alone…you see…" Dwalin groaned in exasperation, apparently giving up on mere words, and dodged back out of the chamber. Moments later, he returned, bringing with him…

Thorin's chair went flying to the ground with a resounding crash.

She looked terrible, her clothing ripped, her breathing ragged, her hair and face smeared with dirt and blood. But she was instantly recognizable.

_She came alone…_

"_Where is Kíli?_" he yelled at the only person in Middle Earth he knew could possibly tell him.

"Thorin…Oakenshield..." Tauriel managed to say before she collapsed, unconscious, on the floor.


	17. Tearful Answers

"Hold still, Kilian!" Dís told her grandson as she attempted, not for the first time that day, to tame his wild dark hair into some semblance of order. He wasn't as patient as usual, and squirmed every few seconds. "Don't you want me to finish these braids properly?"

Kilian managed to sit still for a few seconds, only to jump up as the sound of animated laughter and chatter came down the hall. "Kara!" he shrieked delightedly, recognizing his sister's voice.

Dís grabbed him and held him still long enough to fasten a clip onto the end of his half-finished braid. She too recognized Kara's voice, and Fíli's. She was, however, surprised to hear her granddaughter laughing like that.

"Kilian!" Kara called, before she and Fíli burst into the room. Kilian shrieked again and ran to his sister, who dropped to her knees to hug him properly.

Dís stood, noting that Fíli and Kara were both red-faced and dripping wet, with small clumps of rapidly melting snow clinging to their clothes and hair. "Snowball fight?" she asked Fíli with a smile.

"Yes. A very energetic one." Fíli panted, running his hand through his wet, tangled hair. "Kara started it," he added slyly, glancing over at his niece.

"Hey! You told me to watch my mouth!" Kara stood, shoving her wild red hair out of her face. "So I put some snow in yours!"

"Maybe so, but you missed the first time!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Dís couldn't help but chuckle over that exchange. "Well, not matter who started it; you two are dripping water everywhere and getting it all over Kilian besides!" Once Kara had released her brother, Fíli had moved in to hug him too. "Go change out of those clothes before you catch your death! Where _were_ you, anyway?"

"We went up the Mountain a-ways." Fíli told her as he put Kilian down on the floor. "It was entirely Kara's idea…"

"Which you agreed to!" Kara broke in.

Fíli looked about to deliver another teasing reply when they all heard a familiar voice bellowing out in the hall. _"Dís! Fíli! Kara! Mahal, where is everyone?"_

"We're in here, Thorin!" Dís called, concerned. Something about her brother's tone worried her. It obviously had the same effect on Fíli and Kara. Even Kilian appeared nervous and clung to Dís' skirt.

Thorin slammed the door open so hard that it ought to have broken and fallen on the floor. "Kara!" he yelled, catching sight of the girl.

"Right here, no need to shout!" Kara shot back, equally loudly. "What the hell did I do wrong this time?"

"Who said you did anything wrong?" Thorin snarled in return. They hadn't been at each other's throats like this for weeks.

Fíli opened his mouth, probably to either quiet his uncle or tell Kara off, but Dís interrupted. "Thorin! Lower your voice! You're scaring Kilian!" This was true; all the banging and shouting had clearly frightened the child, who was now trying to hide behind his grandmother.

It worked much better than any other reprimand. Thorin instantly looked ashamed. "Sorry. Come here, Kilian." He held out his arms, and Kilian ran into them. Giving the child a warm hug, Thorin said gently, "I'm sorry if I scared you, little one. Can you forgive me?"

Kilian nodded and lisped, "Yeth."

Thorin smiled and ruffled Kilian's hair. "Can you go into the next room and play quietly for a little bit?"

Kilian nodded again and scampered off. Thorin took a deep breath and turned to the other three. "I'm not sure I want him in here for this," he explained.

"Want him in here for what?" Kara demanded.

Fíli put his hand on her shoulder and murmured, "Perhaps he'd tell us if we stayed quiet for a few seconds."

Kara smiled fleetingly before looking back at Thorin, mouth firmly shut. But he didn't speak right away. "I'm not sure how to say this…"

"Thorin, being straightforward would be the best considering your present audience," Dís pointed out.

"Fine." Thorin looked directly at Kara, his next words aimed at her. "Your mother is alive."

Kara went completely still, her face drained of color. Thorin's next words did nothing to change her frozen state. "She's here in Erebor." This time he looked between Dís and Fíli as he spoke. "She's injured, but not too seriously, as far as I could see. I had her sent down to the healing chambers."

Fíli was the first to speak. "If Tauriel's here, then where is Kee?" The old nickname for his brother slipped out before he could stop it.

"I don't know," Thorin growled, but not at his nephew. "All I know is that he's not with her. The guards saw her arrive alone."

"Is she awake? Did you ask her?" Dís' anxiety made her snap the words.

"She's unconscious; actually, she keeled over right in front of me. I did ask her where Kíli is but she didn't have a chance to answer." Thorin turned once more to Kara, who was still frozen in place. "Kara…" He stopped, evidently unsure of what to say. Or even what to expect.

Certainly none of them expected her to suddenly become unfrozen and shove past them out into the hallway.

Fíli was after her in a flash. Dís met her brother's gaze. "Go. I'll take care of Kilian."

Thorin nodded his thanks and left.

* * *

Kara was a faster runner than Fíli, but he managed to keep her in sight as they dodged through the halls of Erebor.

More than once he collided with dwarves intent on their own business. Kara didn't seem to crash into anybody as far as he could see, but maybe that was because almost everyone automatically gave her a wide berth when they saw her coming.

Because of what she was.

Usually, Fíli would have felt unhappy over the intolerance of his own people, but just then he had no time. It didn't take long for him to realize where Kara was headed, and he wanted to be next to her when she got there, not trailing behind.

Minutes later, though it seemed somehow much longer, Fíli managed to catch up with Kara just inside the doorway of the healing chambers. And then only because she was being forcefully stopped from getting any farther.

"Let go of me!" she screamed...with several colorful embellishments...at the two healers holding her arms. They were both bulky young dwarves, and seemed to have little trouble holding her back.

Fíli paused a moment to catch his breath before stepping forward. "I'll take her now." he told the two dwarves, who looked uncertain but allowed Fíli to take Kara by the shoulders. She finally stopped fighting when she saw who was holding her. Maneuvering her around so she faced him, Fíli held Kara as she shook all over from pent-up emotion. Neither of them said a word, though Fíli wished fervently that he knew how to relieve the anguish she must be going through.

A couple minutes later Thorin arrived. He spoke to one of the healers for a moment before coming over to Fíli and Kara. "She's still unconscious. They'll let us see her as soon as she wakes up." He nodded at Kara. "How's she doing?"

Fíli hesitated, half-hoping that Kara would answer in her usual stinging manner, but when she didn't he said, "She just wants to see her mother."

"I know." 

Fíli suddenly felt exhausted. Had it really only been a couple hours since he and Kara were throwing snowballs at each other? They were both still in their wet clothes, he realized. No matter; they were already starting to dry in the warmer underground air.

Fíli kept his arms around Kara, and Thorin stayed close beside them, until Óin came to tell them that Tauriel was starting to wake up.

* * *

She looked both better and worse than before. She was certainly much cleaner, and any injuries she had were bandaged, but she looked frail. Breakable. All elves were thin, but Tauriel appeared more along the lines of emaciated. According to Óin, she had collapsed due to what must have been extreme exhaustion and starvation.

Thorin didn't doubt that. He just wanted to know how she'd ended up that way in the first place.

But he and Fíli both stayed back, allowing Kara to approach her mother's bedside alone.

Tauriel's eyes were mostly shut, but it was clear that she was waking slowly. Kara moved close to her and took her hand. "Amad?" she asked softly, her voice shaking. "Mum?"

Tauriel's eyelids flickered and she finally opened her eyes completely. Glancing around hazily, her gaze fell on Kara. Her lips parted and a soft cry escaped them. "_Kara?_"

Tears started to fall down Kara's cheeks. "Hello, Amad," she choked.

"You're all right…" Tauriel's eyes closed, only to fly open a moment later. "Kilian?" she cried out, her voice hoarse.

"He's fine, he's with Dís," Kara assured her. "You'll see him soon. Try not to talk too much, Amad."

"The king," Tauriel managed to say. "Thorin…"

"I'm here." Thorin stepped forward, into Tauriel's sight. "Both of your children are safe here, I promise you." He figured that she'd be worried about that...worried about her children being safe from _him_, probably.

"Yes…" Tauriel's eyes filled with tears as she remembered something else. "Kíli…"

"Where is he?" cried Fíli. Thorin shot him a glare, though he wanted nothing more to ask that question as well.

Tauriel started crying in earnest. Thorin felt certain that Óin was going to come in at any moment and shoo them all out.

"I don't know!" cried Tauriel. "I just don't know! They took him away!"

Thorin felt a surge of fear. "Who?" he demanded, no longer caring what Óin thought about keeping voices down in the healing chambers. "Who took him away?"

Tauriel stared at him with anguished, red-rimmed eyes. "The orcs! They separated us! I escaped but I don't know where they took my husband!" She began to cry harder. Kara tried in vain to comfort her as Óin came in looking exasperated.

Thorin and Fíli exchanged horrified glances, ignoring the healer. Kíli, captured by orcs?

_He's probably already dead._


	18. Fight and Flight

"We need to find him."

"I know that, Fíli."

"He can't be dead."

"You said that already."

"If they went through so much trouble to capture then separate Kíli and Tauriel, then they must want him alive, right?"

"That would be a logical conclusion, Fíli, but orcs aren't always logical, or haven't you noticed?"

"We have to find him!"

"I know!" Thorin shouted, his patience finally exhausted. Then, forcing himself to use a quieter voice, he added, "We've been having this same conversation over and over again for an hour, Fíli. Our only choice is to wait."

Fíli yelled in frustration and slammed his hand against the nearest wall. "Wait for _what?_"

Thorin had to remind himself that Fíli's irrationality stemmed from fear. Shouting at him would do no good. "Tauriel may not know where they took Kíli, but she may remember where they were captured and separated. If so, we can go there and try to find some clues." Thorin knew perfectly well that tracking the orcs would be nigh impossible in the snow, but one could hope. "Tauriel is too weak to be questioned at the moment; as soon as she's better, we'll see."

Fíli growled and stomped away, probably to the training caverns to throw some daggers. Thorin remained in the deserted corridor, knowing better than to follow his nephew while he was in this mood. Instead, the dwarf king sat down against the wall, head in his hands.

_How did this happen?_

Everything he had worked for, fought for, in the years preceding the retaking of Erebor, seemed to be falling apart. How could he keep his own kingdom strong if he couldn't even hold his own family together?

Tauriel had returned, yes. But they barely knew her; Kíli had always been the one…But now they knew him to be the captive of orcs, possibly deceased. If they discovered that the worst had happened, Thorin feared that Fíli would never recover. Who knew how it would affect Tauriel. Dís would hold herself together for her grandchildren, but even they would suffer the repercussions, naturally. Kara, at best, would blame Thorin and Fíli all over again, and at worst would decide to leave Erebor for real this time. Kilian would adapt, being so young, but one day he'd have to hear the truth and Mahal only knew what kind of person that would make of him.

As for Thorin himself… he felt that if he discovered that his nephew's death had been his fault, however indirectly, he would finally break.

_Won't that be a fine state of affairs?_he thought. _The king insane, the first heir in depression, the only other close heirs half-elves…_

That thought brought him up short. Wait, that _was _already the case. If Kíli was…departed, then Kilian was next in line to the throne of Erebor. Technically, anyway.

That actually made Thorin laugh briefly, albeit a little hysterically. _A half-elf king of Erebor? Ridiculous._

Thorin sighed heavily, remembering that Dís had, in fact, mentioned this in passing. _It won't always be this easy…_

_Was this supposed to be easy?_

Of course not.

* * *

Fíli, to his surprise, found that he was not the only person in the training cavern that evening. It was around the time where most of the inhabitants of Erebor were having supper, so he initially expected to find the cavern empty.

His first hint was the sounds; a combination of tearing cloth and clanging steel. He rounded a rack of spears to find Kara dodging around a wide, mostly bare area occupied by several cloth-and-straw dummies. She was hacking at them with a sword, twisting around and bringing the blade up against any surface. She was very destructive, even though her technique lacked finesse. The dummies were rapidly turning into piles of shredded cloth and straw.

_Pretty soon she'll have none left_, Fíli thought to himself. Picking up the nearest training sword, he step forward, catching Kara's eye as she swiveled around. Noting the weapon in his hand, Kara immediately switched to a defensive stance.

Moments later they were sparring; Fíli going on the offensive first with a quick series of expert jabs, Kara using every move he had already taught her (and a few she improvised) to keep him from overpowering her.

She had potential. Fíli had to admit that. Her reflexes were unusually quick.

After he had finally managed to disarm her...she did forget to keep her guard raised when she tried to go on the offensive...they both collapsed on the floor, gasping. "Nothing like a bit of vigorous exercise to work out excess emotion," Kara panted.

"Agreed." Fíli ran his hand through his hair, which, to his chagrin, was a mess. "You're not with your mother."

"That healer," Kara grumbled, "threw me out." She cursed softly; Fíli leaned over and smacked her on the side of the head. She yelped. "Don't you ever swear?"

"Not as often as you do."

Kara snorted. "You should have heard the tavern keeper's son in the village near where we lived. Now, he had a foul mouth. He was always insulting people."

Fíli was interested. Only on a couple occasions had Kara opened up about her life before she had had to come to Erebor. "Did he insult you?"

"A few times. He wasn't the only one." Kara's face darkened, but then she smiled mischievously. "The last time he wished he hadn't."

"Ah, so you fought him!"

"Oh, yes. That last time, I knocked three of his teeth out." Kara giggled. "His father couldn't decide whether to hate me for it or to congratulate me on shutting up his son."

"I'm guessing that wasn't your only victory?"

Kara looked at him out of the corners of her eyes. "I've won a few fistfights over the years."

Sensing that this was a good topic to pursue, Fíli inquired, "Over the years? How old _are _you?" She'd been inexplicably stubborn in refusing to give them her exact age, though they had a general idea, of course.

"Twenty-five." Kara, who'd been absently examining the practice blade in her hands, suddenly whipped her head around and glared at Fíli. "Oi! You tricked me!"

Fíli burst out laughing at the expression on her face. "Why keep it a secret? Does it matter?"

"I guess not." She smiled and punched her uncle on the shoulder. He smacked her over the head again. She laughed, then grew somber. "I hope Adad's all right," she said.

Fíli sighed and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her close. "So do I, Kara. So do I."

* * *

_There are advantages to being stupidly reckless_, Kíli reflected.

The small part of his mind that sounded rather like Fíli told him that thought was stupid all by itself.

He almost laughed at that.

Yes, he was being reckless. But what did he have to lose, really?

He had been tortured to some extent, which made moving around difficult, but not impossible. But staying here would certainly end in his death, if the whispers of his guards were to be believed. Why not go out fighting, if there was some small chance of surviving?

His life was the only one on the line here. And he couldn't just wait for a rescue that would likely never come, now could he?

_Tauriel escaped. Knowing her, she'll be fine._

He couldn't be so sure about the children. But he knew the orcs hadn't gotten them…that bit of Bolg's game had become pretty transparent early on.

_Hopefully Kara did as she was told for once and got Kilian…and herself…to safety._

He wouldn't dwell on it. He couldn't allow himself to. 

Earlier, after a painful but in his opinion rather ineffectual beating, he'd heard Bolg snap out, "Leave him to rot for a while. He's no use to us dead. Yet."

_Want me to sit and rot in this cave, Bolg? Fine, I'll do just that. I'll wait until you _definitely_ expect me to do nothing._

Alone in the dark, with only the nearby mutters of the orcs and his own thoughts, Kíli smiled slightly, reaching out to a crack in the stone wall next to him.

He'd hidden a long, sharp piece of metal there, nicked from the clothes of a guard who had not noticed its absence.

_Oh, yes, Bolg, I'll sit here quite happily for a while._


	19. Answers and Shadows

The look on Tauriel's face when she was finally reunited with Kilian was enough to melt anyone's heart. Thorin averted his eyes, giving Tauriel and her children some privacy, as the initially suspicious Kilian accepted that his mother was really there after all.

Fíli met Thorin's gaze, smiling slightly. Dís, however, didn't seem to have any compunction watching the red-haired elf crying and hugging her children. Both of them were crying, too. It wasn't long before Dís started wiping her own wet eyes. Thorin moved to the doorway of the chamber, motioning for Fíli to join him.

"Do you have the map?"

"Yes." Fíli glanced over his shoulder, then back at Thorin again. "Do you suppose she'll actually be able to point out where she last saw Kíli?"

"She'll be able to give us a rough estimate, at least. That's all we'll need to begin a search."

"It'll be impossible to track anything, unless we see more orcs."

"Either way, we can't wait long." Thorin and Fíli moved outside into the foyer of the healing chambers, keeping their voices low. "The longer we wait…"

"The more chance there is that Kíli dies." Fíli sighed. "Do you suppose our questions will upset Tauriel very much? I mean, we'll probably be making her relive memories of being captured…"

"She'll be less upset than if we don't try to find her husband." 

Fíli looked suddenly a mix of anxiety and remorse. "Well, if you put it that way…" he trailed off, staring at a nearby wall.

Thorin watched his nephew with concern, but Kara walked out of her mother's room before he could say anything. "Mother and Dís wanted to _talk_. Before she talks to you." She rubbed her red-rimmed eyes, then shot Thorin a defensive glare when he shifted his concerned glance to her.

Thorin shook his head even as he asked, "What are they talking about?"

"Haven't a clue." Kara shrugged. "Not sure I want to know."

Thorin nodded but muttered under his breath, "Me neither."

Fíli let out a cough that sounded more like a stifled laugh.

The other two scowled at him.

* * *

The moment Kara left the room, Dís stated, "I'm sorry."

Tauriel looked up from her son, who had started to play with the ends of her long red hair as he snuggled under her arm. "What?" 

_I may be better at saying _sorry_ that my brother, but I'm just as uncomfortable while dealing with elves. _Dís took a deep breath before elaborating. "I am sorry for my behavior the last time we spoke."

Understanding flashed across Tauriel's face. "I never blamed you for our leaving! I never blamed you for anything…I believe that I understand why you didn't approve of Kíli and I….You were just worried about him."

Dís relaxed. "Yes, I was. It's a mother's task; as I'm sure you know." She nodded at Kilian. "But I will admit my real failing. I was prejudiced against you from the beginning."

"Because I'm an elf."

"Yes." Dís forced herself to keep eye contact with Tauriel. "I am not my brother. But we do share some of the same…shortcomings."

"I've noticed."

"But we care about Kíli, who loves you. That should have been enough."

Tauriel raised one hand to stop her. "I know where you're going with this. Lady Dís, I am the one who owes _you _an apology. Kíli should not have left Erebor, not even for me. I should have convinced him to stay."

"Just as I should have been occupied convincing my dear, idiotic brother that the intent of all elves is _not _to destroy the lives of all dwarves. As it is," Dís continued before Tauriel could comment, "we both owe each other apologies. Let's just both say sorry and put it behind us."

"I apologize with no regret." Tauriel laughed a little. "But what exactly are we putting behind us? The apologies, or did you mean something else?"

"The apologies and the hard feelings of the past. If…_when_ we find Kíli, do not think that I have any intention of letting him or you or your children walk out of Erebor again. Neither does Fíli, of that I am certain."

"What about the king?"

"Leave Thorin to me," growled Dís. "If he even thinks for a single moment that he can get away with acting like a royal ass…again...then he'll have to answer to me. Though," she added reflectively, "I may have to get in line."

"Yes. I cannot imagine that Prince Fíli would approve of a second banishment of his brother." 

"Of course not, but he's not the only one. Kara wouldn't be too pleased about it either. I don't think she'd stand for it, as a matter of fact."

Tauriel winced. "She's been misbehaving, hasn't she?"

"I don't know what you mean by _misbehaving_, but if you mean swearing at healers and fighting Thorin over something as trivial as her age as misbehaving…well, yes, she has been." Dís refrained from informing Tauriel of Kara's "hunting trip"; no need to worry her any further than she was already. "Fíli can keep her under control. Usually."

Tauriel sighed and ruffled Kilian's hair...he was dozing, still curled up against her. "I'm sorry for that. I honestly don't know where or when she got that swearing habit, but the hostility…Kíli and I did our best with her…but she's going through a rebellious stage…has been for a few years…and she's always been strong-willed."

"Downright obdurate, if you ask me." But Dís smiled to soften her words. "She _is_ quite clever, can't deny that. But was she ever _anything_ like Kilian?"

"Oh, no. Kilian's never more trouble than you'd expect from a child his age…in fact, less…but Kara…even when she was a baby, she cried in a…_commanding_ way, if you take my meaning."

"Definitely. Kilian now, he's…"

"Too adorable for his own good," the elf and the dwarrowdam finished together. They both laughed, waking Kilian up. He blinked, then, catching sight of his mother, let out a happy squeal and hugged her tightly. Tauriel laughed again, looking up from her child and meeting Dís' gaze again. Yes, they understood each other.

Pity they hadn't sooner.

* * *

Fíli was feeling exceedingly impatient; much more so than usual.

The map they had was a good one, detailed, recent, and accurate. Tauriel easily found and pointed out the area where she, Kíli, and the children had been living.

She also told them what she and Kíli had been doing when they'd been captured.

"You were _chasing orcs_?" Thorin said incredulously. "And you got captured _while_ chasing these orcs?"

"By Durin's beard, Thorin! Stop being such an idiot!" Dís hit her brother on the shoulder.

Thorin glared at her, rubbing his shoulder as he inquired, "Tauriel, let me get this straight. You saw these orcs and decided to follow them, correct?"

"Kíli did. While he was hunting. He saw two small bands of orcs come from different directions, meet in what seemed to be a predetermined location, and head north together."

"So you decided that tracking them was a good idea?"

"Kíli was concerned. We both were. The lands from the Lonely Mountain to the Misty Mountains have been clear of orc packs for years! We wanted to discover where they were going, then perhaps tell someone, just in case…"

"Both of you had to go?' This query came from Kara, who had been sitting in the corner, trying to braid Kilian's hair...she didn't have much experience, but it would keep him quiet. Her face had that too-familiar icy expression.

Tauriel's eyes filled with tears. "We didn't think we'd be gone long, Kara. We thought you'd be all right for a few days…"

Kara stopped braiding Kilian's hair and stood up, her indignant brother tumbling from her lap. "Well, it was closer to a few months," she said heatedly. She walked out, ignoring her mother's entreaties to stay.

Thorin gave his nephew a look that clearly said _go after her_, but Fíli shook his head in refusal. He wasn't going anywhere until he heard what more Tauriel...who was now crying again...had to say about the orcs.

In the end, Dís...with the assistance of Kilian, naturally...managed to calm Tauriel down enough to continue with her account.

"It wasn't the pack we were following that captured us; it was another group that came up behind when we least expected it." Tauriel shuddered. "We were completely surrounded, taken by surprise. I think it was about a week after we left home? We were planning to turn back; the orcs kept going in circles, as far as we could tell…"

Fíli grew agitated as Tauriel went on to explain that after she and Kíli were captured, they were bound, blindfolded, and moved around by the orcs for several days until they were disoriented. "So you don't know where you last saw Kíli?" he burst out. _Maybe I should've gone after Kara…_

"I'm sorry, no." Tauriel's eyes threatened to overflow with tears again. "I was lost on the way here...I had to find the Lonely Mountain on the horizon in order to find my way…I wish I was certain. I can give you a general area, however. I just hope it's enough…" She bit her lip and hugged Kilian close.

Fíli had only one thought going through his head at that moment.

_It had better be enough._

* * *

Thorin reined in his pony, glancing over his shoulder as he waited for the rest of the company to catch up with him. The Lonely Mountain, though distant, still dominated the landscape behind them; they had only left Erebor three days before.

And what a departure it had been. Thorin still didn't know whether to groan over the occasion or to laugh at it.

_"A journey, Your Majesty? In the middle of winter?"_

_Thorin sighed loudly, inwardly cursing councilors who couldn't put two and two together fast enough. "First of all, it's not the _middle_ of winter. Secondly, yes, I'm going on a journey; just with a small party of soldiers. And before you ask, I'm going to find my nephew. Not the one you're looking at right now, my _other_ nephew."_

_"The one who married the elf?"_

_"And had two half-breed children?"_

_If looks could kill, both of the councilors who had spoken would have been dead under the combined glares of one king and one prince. After a long moment of complete silence, Thorin growled forebodingly, "Whoever next refers to Kara and Kilian as_ _"half-breeds" will regret it. Very much."_

_The councilors grew very quiet and listened to Thorin's instructions after that. Even the ones who tended to grumble into their beards did it in their heads that time._

At least he hadn't had to call out the entire army; with what Tauriel had told them and what fragmentary news they had received from other sources, it was highly unlikely that the orcs were very numerous or organized.

"Thorin?" The king was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of Balin, who had volunteered to come along. "Are you alright?" the white-bearded dwarf asked.

"I'm fine," Thorin assured him. "How is everyone holding up?"

"You know my brother, strong as stone. He's keeping the soldiers in line, not that they really need it. They're coping well as a whole, despite this blasted cold weather. Thankfully it hasn't snowed again."

"Let's hope that it stays that way," Thorin replied. "What about Óin? I told him he didn't have to come…"

"But he offered to; yes, I've already listened to his side of the argument, Thorin. He's fine. How are _you_, really?"

"I already said that I'm fine, Balin." Thorin deliberately turned his head away as he urged his pony forward once again. But he could still feel his friend's disapproving gaze.

A few hours later, they crossed a small stream. "We will stop and make camp soon!" Thorin called to the company as they moved on. Balin had dropped back to ride next to Óin, while Fíli now rode next to Thorin. Dwalin, for some reason, was hanging back. The king shrugged off his curiosity and turned to his nephew. "It's getting darker earlier every day."

"Not to mention colder. It's not exactly the best questing conditions." His smile faded. "I hope…" He didn't have to finish. They both knew what he was thinking.

_I hope Kíli's all right._

Thorin reached out and briefly touched his nephew's shoulder. "Me too."

Just then, Dwalin came trotting up on his pony. "We've got a wee bit of a problem," he said to Thorin, keeping his voice low.

"What sort of problem?" Thorin demanded, instantly on the alert.

"We're being followed."

"Followed?" Fíli whispered hoarsely from the other side of his uncle. "By orcs?"

To the immense surprise of both the dwarf king and prince, Dwalin actually grinned. Raising his voice to something close to a shout, he called, "Not unless orcs have long red hair!"

From somewhere behind them, apparently near the creek, a loud stream of curses rang out.

Fíli and Thorin whipped around at the same time and yelled, _"Kara!"_


	20. An Argument and a Battle

Kara was not repentant. She was the opposite of repentant.

Kara was completely defiant.

_We really should have known_, Fíli reflected. _She was far too…__tame__ at our departure_.

He ought to have realized that she was up to something when she had said a docile goodbye to him and Thorin. She'd been so uncharacteristically polite. Why hadn't he noticed the devious glint in her eyes? He was sure now that it must have been there.

But while Fíli was in a turmoil of exasperation and worry, it was nothing compared to how Thorin was just then.

Thorin was livid.

"Are you out of your _mind?_ You_…_"

"Are you?" Kara grumbled.

"…thought that you could just follow us on a whim? Did you…"

"I didn't say that!"

"…even give a thought to how you would worry _us_? Your _family?_ Running off in the middle of winter _again_…"

"It is not the middle of winter! Well, almost, but that's not the…"

"_Will you quit interrupting me!_"

"_I notice that it hasn't stopped you yet!_"

Fíli sighed heavily. Whilst Dwalin and the guards set up camp...the company had made it no further after Kara's appearance...Fíli and Balin had positioned themselves near Thorin and Kara in case they needed to intervene. Behind his uncle and niece, the dwarf prince could see Dwalin and the others working but clearly listening in on the fight.

_Well, it's not as if it's hard to hear._

"How do you think this will affect your mother and your grandmother? Oh, I forgot that you probably _didn't _think at all!" Thorin roared.

"I left a note! I didn't just disappear; I'm not that cruel!"

"You _left a note?_ You think _that_ will make much of a difference? Are you utterly _insane?_" Thorin's voice only seemed to get louder. Kara's, on the other hand, dropped to a hiss.

"_Insane?_ Is _that _what you think of me? Well, pardon me if I want to help rescue my father! And whose bloody fault is it that he's been captured by orcs in the first place? _Yours!_"

She shouted the last word, causing everyone within earshot to freeze mid-motion. Fíli felt a flash of dismay at the taut expression on Thorin's face.

_Has Kara gone too far this time?_

It took Thorin a very long time to answer her. When he did, his voice was no more than a murmur.

"You will remain with us, if only because I know that trying to send you back to Erebor will be completely hopeless. But you will behave yourself on this journey; if you are told to stay put, you do. If you are told to stay clear of a fight, you will. If you are told to run away, you run. Is that clear?" He had advanced on her until they were inches from each other. Kara held her ground, meeting Thorin's gaze squarely. She too took her time answering.

"Yes, _Your Majesty_."

Thorin nodded curtly, then turned away and strode off to examine the camp. Kara remained where she was, looking after him.

Fíli breathed a sigh of relief. He been having some alarming mental images of Kara and Thorin deciding that hacking each other to bits was a better idea than talking. Even though he knew it was foolish to think such things.

_Hopefully their behavior towards each other won't get any worse._

Somehow Fíli doubted that it would get any better.

* * *

Traveling in the snow was not one of Thorin's preferred methods of journeying. But traveling in the snow, on the way to a probable orc stronghold, while having to keep an eye on his extremely reckless great-niece?

Pure torture.

The already frigid air seemed to get even colder every time Kara was in the immediate vicinity. She wasn't speaking to Thorin...something he was relieved about; he wouldn't know how to talk to her without yelling...and she was taking brief hunting excursions away from the company...something which he was _not_ so pleased about. Most of the other dwarves avoided her on principle; she didn't go out of her way to be friendly towards them either. She avoided Balin and Óin, barely tolerated Dwalin, and so far had spent most of her time with Fíli. So far the only other person she had spoken to was the young soldier Brekâ, and as far as Thorin could tell that was only because Brekâ usually complemented whatever catch Kara managed to obtain during her hunting forays. Kara didn't always respond, either.

The whole conflict with Kara added to the immense load of worry and guilt Thorin carried with him. Every other moment seemed to be occupied with thoughts of Kíli and what might or might not have happened to him.

_He can't be dead._

_What if he is?_

_He can't be dead. We would know it._

Fíli still insisted that his brother was still alive. He claimed that he could feel it. Thorin also clung that hope.

Mahal only knew what Kara clung to. She might even believe her father to be dead. Maybe the promise of revenge? But Thorin had already sworn to himself that she would not, under any circumstances, go into battle. Dís and Tauriel would never forgive him.

And if Kara was hurt or worse, killed…Thorin knew that he would never forgive himself either.

_"Well, pardon me if I want to help rescue my father!"_

Thorin had a bad feeling that _help_ meant actually assisting in rescuing Kíli, something that for obvious reasons he could not allow.

_Why didn't you just send her back to Erebor when you had the chance?_

Because she would have slipped off and pursued them again. Kara was far too stubborn. She'd made up her mind to come along, and so she would.

_"And whose bloody fault is it that he's been captured by orcs in the first place? Yours!"_

Thorin couldn't help but sigh. It was true; he was to blame.

And Kara knew it as well as he did.

* * *

They were riding through an area mostly comprised of empty fields with several small patches of forest and large clusters of snow-capped boulders. It was cold, rather bleak, and overall the company was very quiet.

Fíli maneuvered his pony around until he was riding beside Thorin. "How much farther, do you think?" he asked.

"We should be in the general area that they were captured," Thorin replied. "But after that…"

"We have nothing to go on," finished Dwalin from just behind them. "Unless another orc pack is roaming around…"

"We could follow them in that case, at least; the snow on the ground would make them easy to track," Balin put in from the other side of Fíli.

"Unless it actually begins to snow again." They'd had this conversation so many times already. The golden-haired prince stroked his pony's neck nervously, glancing around at the scattered thickets of trees and at the other members of the company. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Did anyone see where Kara went?" he called.

The chestnut-haired female soldier near the back of the company replied, "She said she was scouting around. I've leading her pony, as you can see; she said she wanted to run."

Fíli frowned, concerned, but ultimately decided not to get too worried yet. Kara had done this several times over the past week, and each time she had returned in one piece.

But he heard Thorin growl something under his breath. "What was that, Uncle?"

Thorin didn't reply with more than a annoyed glance.

* * *

It must have been about a half and hour later when Kara returned. Watching her streak across the snowy with much of the light-footed fleetness of her elf mother, Thorin realized that she was moving even faster than usual.

As it turned out, she had a good reason to.

"Orcs? Are you certain?" The words had hardly left Thorin's mouth before he realized how stupid they were. The girl had recently been _attacked_ by orcs; she would know perfectly well what one looked like, let alone an entire pack. Which was what Kara had claimed to have seen. "How far, Kara?"

"Less than a half mile to the north," Kara replied as she swung back onto her pony. "There's at least a dozen of them, scattered. They're upwind."

"So perhaps they are unaware of our presence," Dwalin observed.

_Fortunate, for us. _Thorin's gaze swept over the company. "Well, there's eighteen of us. We outnumber them, or at least match them."

"There's twenty of us, you mean," Kara contradicted.

"I wasn't counting you or Óin." 

"Wonderful, I've just been classed with the healer." 

Thorin ignored her as he barked out, "Ready weapons. They may decide to attack at any time. Kara, what were they doing exactly? Just wandering around?" _That makes no sense._

He didn't miss the way she shuddered. "It looked…it looked like they were hunting," she said quietly.

He really didn't like the sound of that, but turned his mount and led the others in the general direction of the orcs nonetheless.

_Perhaps we can overpower a few and ask some questions…"Where is Kíli?_"_, to begin with…along with "What…or who…are they hunting?"_

When they rounded a hillock and sighted the pack, the creatures were converging, around an isolated grove of trees, all snarling. One happened to look over and spot the dwarves.

Everything went a bit mad after that.

Thorin recalled yelling at Óin and Kara to flee, before dismounting to lead the rest of the company into battle.

Dwarves fought better on foot.

And while these orcs had to be hardened fighters, they were less than optimally armed and rather disorganized.

The next few minutes were chaos as the skirmish was waged around and in the patch of trees. Thorin tore into one opponent after another…_Kara miscounted; there's more than a dozen here…_glimpsing Fíli locked in combat with an orc wearing an odd bone helmet, Dwalin seizing a small orc and using it as a live...not for very long...shield against the others, Balin burying an axe into the skull of yet another.

Then he heard arrows slicing through the air from somewhere beyond the actual fight and swore loudly. _Kara. She's lucky she's a good shot. _He swung his sword at his nearest adversary, slicing its throat.

A glance around a minute later told him that they were actually winning.

Then Kara started screaming. At it wasn't her usual "_get out of my way or I'll make you_" scream.

It was actual frightened screaming. For the first time since Thorin had met her, she sounded _terrified_.

"_Kara!_" Fíli shouted from somewhere to Thorin's left as the king spun around. Everyone, orcs and dwarves alike, had frozen, staring.

Standing with his massive back to a tree, jagged blade to the neck of the suddenly-silent girl he held off the ground, was none other than Bolg, spawn of Azog.

Fíli was the first to find his voice. "You were dead!"

Bolg snarled, his grip on Kara tightening as she squirmed. She stiffened as the blade opened a shallow cut on her neck, her brown eyes locking with Thorin's.

_Don't move, _he tried to tell her with his eyes. _Don't provoke him. We'll handle this…_Though how they would, he had no idea. They might be able to overpower the orcs, Bolg included, given time, but one wrong move now and Kara would die.

"So this is the little half-breed," Bolg hissed. "Foolish of you to bring such a young one with you, Thorin Oakenshield."

_So he knows exactly who she is…how long were he and his lot watching them? _There was no time to dwell on that now. Thorin met the creature's evil gaze squarely. "Let her go. Take me instead."

Kara let out a curse that ended in a squeak as Bolg once again tightened his grip around her ribcage, pinning her arms even tighter. Fíli took a step forward, then halted, expression furious.

"And lose my revenge?" Bolg laughed harshly. "Reinforcements are on the way, Oakenshield. This will be the end of the Durin line! At last!"

A shadow flickered behind a bush, off to the right. Thorin only saw it out of the corner of his eye; he was rather occupied with his great-niece being held hostage by a mortal enemy.

"You have no chance of defeating Erebor, Bolg!" Dwalin snarled from behind Thorin. "Killing us here will change nothing."

"It will only delay your own end," Fíli added.

_We're only buying time. _Thorin saw the shadow again, it was moving, standing up, just within reach of the weak winter sunlight, holding something…_Is that Kara's bow?_

An arrow whistled through the air, hitting Bolg in the shoulder. Not a terrible wound, but it distracted him. Kara tore out of his grasp, landing lightly while yanking out her dagger and shoving into the giant orc's lower torso. He roared and stumbled back. Kara darted out of the way as Fíli lunged forward with a yell, sword drawn.

Everyone else took the opportunity to attack the remaining orcs. Thorin only had to dispatch one before he found himself safe enough to looked around once more.

He then saw two things in very quick succession. One, he saw Bolg's severed head hurtling through the air, still spurting black blood.

He automatically flinched, his gaze turning away to the right.

And he saw Kíli, Kara's bow in his hands, pass out on the snow.


	21. The Return

When Thorin and Fíli went on the rescue mission, Dís was more or less in charge, even if it wasn't exactly official. Everyone listened to her because not even the most difficult of the king's council were foolish enough _not _to.

Fortunately no major crises came up while the king was gone. Between worrying over a recovering Tauriel, a still-timid Kilian, and especially those absent from the Mountain, Dís was glad she didn't have to bother too much with day-to-day governmental matters.

But she'd nearly sent a battalion out when Kara had left. In the end, the truth of the how useless that would be had stopped her from doing so.

The girl had left a note stating her inability to sit by when her father was in danger and had slipped off in the night, managing to evade multiple guards.

Tauriel had kept calm when Dís had brought her the news. "She doesn't take orders well, especially if they're only implied," the elf had said. Only her shaking hands and too-bright eyes betrayed her pain as she held her younger child to her chest.

Kilian didn't seem to understand fully what was going on, but he seemed to realize that his sister was gone and it wasn't a good thing. He barely left his mother's side as the days wore on.

And they did wear on, in the most dreadful sense of the word. The best thing about them was that it hardly snowed again, and Dís didn't have to worry about the rescue party being buried alive, at least.

But she still worried.

_Perhaps Óin_ _shouldn't have gone with them. Or Balin. They are getting on in years_. _Perhaps we should have sent more warriors. Perhaps I should have locked Kara up as soon as they left._

Tauriel was now staying with Kilian in chambers near Dís's own. Due to being an elf, she had recovered from her earlier ordeal swiftly, but still stayed in the shadows, clearly reluctant to be seen much around Erebor. The dwarvish residents all knew about her return, but didn't seek her out, either. Though Dís was fairly sure Ori had visited the elf a couple times, and Bofur had done the same under the pretense of visiting Kilian.

Dís was grateful for their kindness. She supposed that she also ought to be grateful that the stories drifting around Erebor about Tauriel and the children were mostly curious, rather than hateful. Though now the focus of most gossip was the mission to rescue Kíli. Many of Erebor's residents seemed of divided opinions on it.

And Dís truly couldn't bring herself to care all that much. She wanted her son back, and she didn't care in the least what the rest of Erebor thought about it. She also wanted her brother, older son, and granddaughter to make it back unharmed.

_They have to be all right._

So when a messenger came rushing in while she, Tauriel, and Kilian were having supper with news that the returning rescue party had been spotted, Dís was torn between relief, excitement, and terror.

Her feelings only intensified when they reached the clear area...admittedly crowded by anxious dwarves...just inside the main gates. Judging by the look on Tauriel's face, she felt the same way. Kilian was visibly tense in her arms.

However, the little boy was the first to move when the returning company came marching in, all members covered in snow and all obviously relieved at being home again. From his vantage point in his tall mother's arms, Kilian glimpsed someone Dís couldn't see and wriggled out of Tauriel's arms, dropping to the ground and racing forward. "_Kara!_"

The girl came darting out from the crowd of dwarf warriors, her red hair tangled on her shoulders and her face red, most likely from the cold. "Kilian!" She swept her brother in a tight embrace, ignoring any and all bystanders.

Dís's heart began to pound as she saw Dwalin, in the lead of the returning group, halt and bark out a muffled order. The dwarves behind him hastily moved aside, allowing three, two supporting the third between them, to come forward unhindered.

Tauriel moved first, and even if she hadn't, Dís knew the elf's natural speed would have allowed her to be the first to reach Kíli. And despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to push everyone else away and hold her youngest son for as long as he would permit it, the dwarrowdam made herself stay back and watch.

The moment he saw his wife, Kíli tugged himself out of Thorin and Fíli's protective grips and stumbled forward. Seconds later, he and Tauriel were embracing, half-collapsed on the floor together, seemingly blind to all except each other. Then Tauriel pulled away...but not far...and started shouting admonishments at Kara in a strange mixture of Elvish and Dwarvish, and Kara was shouting back in a suspiciously choked voice, and Kilian had practically thrown himself onto Kíli and was clinging to him like he would never let go.

Dís couldn't pull her gaze away until Fíli came up to her and embraced her. "We got him back," he said. His expression was heavy with exhaustion, but to her it was obvious that he was also content in a way he had not been for thirty years.

"He escaped first, remember." Thorin looked equally exhausted.

Dís wasted no time in hugging her brother too. "Is he…"

"He'll be fine. Eventually. Though Óin is surely annoyed that he isn't already on his way to the healing chambers."

Dís was torn between demanding details along that line and asking for the full tale of the "rescue" immediately, torn between buried anger and worry and relief, but it was all interrupted by the sight of Kíli standing right in front of her, leaning heavily on Tauriel. "Amad?"

He managed to sound overjoyed and timid at the same time, his dark eyes peering at her nervously out of his bruised and haggard face.

Dís took two steps forward and wrapped her arms around her youngest son, deciding that any and all explanations could definitely wait.


	22. Many Resolutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to those who left kudos :)

Thorin found himself walking more slowly than necessary down the long hallway.

_The King Under the Mountain, utterly terrified of one conversation._

Then again, it was a conversation long overdue…thirty years overdue.

_Talking to Kara was easier. And that's something I would never expect. _

Directly after the skirmish with Bolg and his minions, there hadn't been much time for any sort of conversation. Upon his sudden appearance, Kíli had fainted, Kara had begun to teeter on the edge of hysterics, and Fíli had dropped the admirable calm he'd kept up for the majority of the journey and had something of a panic attack at the sight of his brother's prone body in the snow. The next few hours were a blur of tending to everyone's injuries...with the exception of Kíli's, all minor, thankfully...and setting up a camp a decent distance away from all the orc corpses.

Kíli had been beaten many times, his body bruised more than not, with several cracked bones and sprained muscles, but he had not been on the edge of death.

Thorin's relief had been so immense that he could have wept. He didn't, of course. He was a king; he had a reputation to maintain.

Fíli, however, once he had been informed that Kíli would be fine, had sobbed openly. No one in the company had blamed him.

Kara had wandered around, expression blank, eyes red, and tear tracks all over her face.

And finally, once Kíli was safe, asleep in a tent with Fíli watching over him, Thorin had had a long talk with his great-niece.

It had started with mutual words of relief over the outcome of the battle, before dissolving into bickering about "how idiotic it was to disobey orders and get turned into a hostage" and "it wasn't like he wouldn't have grabbed the next dwarf close enough".

Then it turned into something a bit more serious.

_"Would you have given yourself up for me? I mean, if he'd actually wanted to negotiate that. Well?"_

_"Yes, I would have."_

_"Why? I'm just…a half-breed."_

_"Don't call yourself that! Ever, do you hear me? You're of the line of Durin, Kara. You're family, and that's all there is to it. And if you ever do something like that again I swear I will lock you in the deepest mine in Erebor."_

_"I suppose…it was a bit…stupid."_

_"It was."_

_Pause. "Dís says I'm just like you, Thorin."_

_"You are. That's exactly why you did it. You're stubborn to a fault."_

_Another pause. "Thorin?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

In the end, he had simply given her a tight hug and reminded her about the mines. She had laughed.

Thorin had posted several guards for each watch that night, but Bolg's "reinforcements" never showed up.

The next morning, Kíli had awoken, and they had begun the trek back to Erebor.

And now, two weeks after their return, Kíli had finally been released from the healing chambers...on the condition that he reported back for examination daily, per Oin's instructions....and the Durin family was about to have supper, all of them together for the first time. Thorin, Dís, Fíli, Kíli, Tauriel, Kara, and Kilian. It would doubtlessly be a happy affair.

But Thorin wanted to speak privately with his youngest nephew first.

Dís had already made amends with Tauriel, and now the two were growing quite close. The dwarrowdam had also apologized...with no small amount of tears...to Kíli, who had forgiven her readily. He had forgiven his brother as well; they had stayed within a couple feet of each other for the majority of the journey back to Erebor, and even now seemed well on the way to repairing their brotherly relationship.

Thorin had yet to be alone in the same room with Kíli for any length of time.

_For all I know, he still blames me for all of this._

He ought to.

_At least most of the residents of Erebor are being…understanding._

The gossip was nowhere near ready to die down, but very little of it seemed malicious. Now, most were just curious. Those who had known Kíli personally _before_ were, as a whole, relieved and glad to have him back.

So was Thorin.

_I just need Kíli to understand that._

His slow strides finally brought him to the door of the chambers Kíli now shared with Tauriel. He didn't hesitate to knock.

"_Come in!_"

_Tauriel's voice_. Thorin took a deep breath and entered.

Tauriel was standing behind Kara by the fireplace, fussing with the girl's dress. Kíli sat on the other side of the room, a giggling Kilian seated in his lap. The little boy sat up straight when Thorin entered. Wriggling out of his father's grasp, he ran across the room and threw his arms around Thorin's legs. If he'd been much larger, the king probably would have stumbled at the impact.

"Kilian, try not to knock the king over." Tauriel scolded as Kara took the opportunity to step away with a muttered, "My dress is _fine_, Amad."

"He's still a bit too small for that." Thorin bent down and scooped Kilian up in his arms. "I'm sure he'll learn to be careful as he gets older."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Kíli said, an absent smile on his face. But there was a tightness around his eyes as he looked at Thorin.

Tauriel stepped over to the king. "We were just about to head down to the dining room..."

"Yes, of course." Thorin handed a now-whining Kilian over to his mother. "Tell the others I'll be there shortly."

Glancing over at Kíli and back again, Tauriel nodded her understanding and stepped out into the hall, saying, "Come along, Kara."

Kara gave Thorin a long, searching look before she too ducked out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving the king alone with his nephew.

_Magnificent. Now I don't know what to say._

Kíli broke the silence first. "Should I be preparing for a scolding or an apology?" he said with a wry chuckle.

Thorin sighed. "Don't joke about it, Kíli."

"Why not?" Kíli's grin faded as he stood up. "Look, Thorin, you…you found my children. You saved them. And you came to find me. It's fine."

Blue eyes met brown for a long moment. "No," Thorin said quietly. "No, Kíli, it's not fine. You…you are my kin, and I treated you…abominably." He paused, took another steadying breath. "You see...Well, when it comes to your wife…"

Kíli's stance went from tense to downright confrontational, shoulders thrown back and chin lifted. "I do not regret a single day that I have spent with Tauriel."

"You shouldn't. She…You love her." Thorin hesitated. "That…that is what matters, in the end. Elf, dwarf, otherwise…I was wrong. In trying to keep you two apart, in casting you out…I was wrong."

Another long pause ensued before Thorin was able to say, "I am sorry, Kíli."

Kíli stared at him for a minute before his gaze dropped to the floor. "Sometimes, during those years…I'd wonder if I should've held my ground, just stayed here until you and Mother and Fíli gave in…other times…" He stopped and cursed under his breath. "What I'm trying to say is…I know you're sorry. And I forgive you."

Thorin couldn't stop his sigh of relief.

Kíli's lips twitched, but his voice was level, casual as he said, "I heard Kara has been rather a menace."

Relaxing into the relatively comfortable topic, Thorin replied, "She has been difficult. Even before she decided that following us on the rescue mission was a good idea."

"She's never been one to follow anybody's rules but her own." Kíli shook his head, but his voice held an unmistakable tone of affection.

"Sounds like someone I know."

"True enough. Doesn't mean she isn't difficult. Though Kilian endeared himself to everyone, didn't he?"

"When he stopped being terrified, yes, he did. A little too much."

Kíli chuckled. "I suppose we'd better go down to supper before Amad gets annoyed…"

"Yes, we should." He opened the door and waited for Kíli to cross the room, then put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Kíli…"

"Yes, Uncle?"

"I'm glad you're back."

"As am I."

_The mistakes of the past are behind us. At last._

An hour later, Thorin leaned back in his seat and watched as Fíli and Kíli leaned close and whispered like children, Tauriel and Dís argued with Kara about how much the girl should be training with weapons, and Kilian, as usual, refused to stay in his seat and wandered around the table, climbing into whatever lap he pleased and giggling at everyone's fond admonishments. Beyond the room, the Kingdom Under the Mountain went on as usual, safe and at peace. Just as it should be.

Thorin Oakenshield unsuccessfully tried to hide his smile in his beard and considered himself rather fortunate, all things considered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story!


End file.
